Coca-Cola, Pepsi to reduce 'cancer-causing' content.

[Terpe]

Coca-Cola, Pepsi to reduce 'cancer-causing' caramel coloring content of their softdrinks

Coca-Cola said Friday it will lower levels of a chemical in caramel coloring to comply with a California law, but insisted the beverage's recipe will not change and poses no health risks.

Pepsi is making similar changes in order to avoid having to label products with a cancer warning due to what California has ruled are high levels of 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI), shown to cause cancer in lab animals, consumer advocates said.

The changes do not amount to a change to Coke's formula, spokesman Ben Sheidler told AFP.

"We are NOT changing our recipe; or our formula," he said in an email.

"What we did do is direct our caramel suppliers to make a manufacturing process modification in order to reduce the level of 4-MEI in our caramel so as to meet the requirement set by the State of California's Proposition 65."

California voters passed Proposition 65 in 1986, and the law aims to protect state residents from "chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm, and to inform citizens about exposures to such chemicals."

Read more here
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story...eir-softdrinks

[imagine]

its quite a thought that these companies proberbly have known the possible effects of some of their ingredients, but dont do anything about it untill they are made to by law

[Doc Alan]

4-MEI ( 4-methylimidazole ) might be a health concern for humans if they consumed 1000 cans a day of Coke or Pepsi - the equivalent of the dose shown to cause cancer in mice ( and reduce it in rats ) in one study. Apart from California, not one regulatory agency elsewhere in the world considers exposure of the public to 4-MEI an issue. But the recipe is being changed across the entire USA ! Forum members, other consumers – and other scientists - are smarter than mice. There is no evidence 4-MEI causes cancer in humans.
Lifestyle does affect risk of getting cancer. Possibly 10% of cancers may be linked to diet. But it’s complicated - diet contains many different types of food and there are over 200 types of cancer. Not eating enough fibre ( fruit and vegetables ), eating too much red or processed meat, and adding too much salt increase the risk.
Being overweight – too many sugary drinks and too much food - increases the risk of certain cancers. So does alcohol in excess ( possibly 4% of cancers ). There is no evidence for most food additives affecting risk. Salty, pickled foods may increase risk of stomach cancer ( not common in UK, commoner in Philippines and Japan ).
Risk of cancer needs to be put in perspective. A healthy diet may help, and not smoking will help, at the same time cutting the chance of heart disease.

[Rosie1958]

Thanks for that Doc Alan. I have to say that I am partial to a Diet Coke although I do drink it in moderation and drink far more chilled water and have a healthy diet anyway, so I will continue with it. I guess that Coca Cola and Pepsi are just trying to cover their backs against any future potential claims.

[lastlid]

Looks like they are gearing up for a bill on this in the Philippines - banning soft drinks etc in schools.

http://iamjammed.com/health-2/sen-mi...s-act-of-2011/

[joebloggs]

its a good idea to ban them, i must have drunk 1000's of litres of Cola over the years, it mentioned on the news today about the increased risks of getting cancer from eating red meat, well I've not had any of that for more than 30yrs.

[pinkpetals]

Thanks for this very informative post..though, i don't really drink coke nor Pepsi that much..i always prefer fresh juice & water..coz i believe they are not really good for our body..

[imagine]

i like coke, it cleans old copper coins mmmm and what else