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Soft Drinks - Sodas |
Caramel color, added to many soft drinks and some foods
to turn them brown, may sound harmless, even appetizing. But in no way
does it resemble real caramel. Some types of this artificial coloring
contain a potentially carcinogenic chemical called
4-methylimidazole
(4-MeI). Under California’s Proposition 65 law, any food or beverage
sold in the state that exposes consumers to more than 29 micrograms of
4-MeI per day is supposed to carry a health-warning label.
In recent
Consumer Reports’ tests, each of the 12-ounce samples of Pepsi One and
Malta Goya had more than 29 micrograms per can or bottle. While we
cannot say that this violates California's Prop 65, we believe that
these levels are too high, and we have asked the California Attorney
General to investigate.
Caramel color is the single most used food coloring in the world,
according to a 2013 report from market research firms Mintel and
Leatherhead Food Research. “There’s no reason why consumers should be
exposed to an avoidable and unnecessary risk that can stem from coloring
food brown,” says Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D., toxicologist and executive
director of Consumer Reports’ Food Safety & Sustainability Center.
“Manufacturers have lower 4-MeI alternatives available to them. Ideally
there would be no 4-MeI in food.”
In 2007, a US federal government study concluded that 4-MeI caused cancer
in mice and the International Agency for Research on Cancer determined
the chemical to be “possibly carcinogenic to humans” in 2011.
There’s no
US federal limit for levels of 4-MeI in foods and beverages, but as of
January 7, 2012 California requires manufacturers to label a product
sold in the state with a cancer warning if it exposes consumers to more
than 29 micrograms of 4-MeI per day. In this case, the exposure comes
from consumption.
The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment used
29 micrograms as the cut off point because that’s the level they
determined poses a one in 100,000 risk of cancer—that is, no more than
one excess cancer case per 100,000 people who are exposed to that amount
daily for a lifetime.
Read more: Caramel Coloring in Soda | Artificial Food Coloring | 4-MeI - Consumer Reports