Consumer Group Finds Carcinogen in Coke and Pepsi

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New chemical analyses have found that Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, Diet Coke, and Diet Pepsi contain high levels of 4-methylimidazole (4-MI), a known animal carcinogen, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the nonprofit watchdog group that commissioned the tests.

The carcinogen forms when ammonia or ammonia and sulfites are used to manufacture the “caramel coloring” that gives those sodas their distinctive brown colors. CSPI first petitioned the FDA to ban ammonia-sulfite caramel coloring in February 2011.

CSPI today reiterated its call to the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its authorization for caramel colorings that contain 4-MI, and in the interim to change the name of the additive to “ammonia-sulfite process caramel coloring” or “chemically modified caramel coloring” for labeling purposes.

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