One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Caramel Coloring In Pepsi Might Cause Cancer
Look at all that 4-methylimidazole. (Photo by successo images via Shutterstock)
Looks like a basic ingredient in your favorite caramel-colored sodas might give you cancer.
A chemical known as 4-methylimidazole, or 4-MeI, is found in tiny amounts of the caramel coloring in sodas such as Pepsi, Coke, Diet Coke, and Dr. Pepper, the Associated Press reports. Unsafe amounts of it has been known to cause cancer in mice, and Consumer Reports is claiming that the risk of people getting cancer from 4-MeI is 1 in 100,000, which is low, but significant.
Currently, the federal government has no law on the books for 4-MeI, but California has a law stating that products containing more than 29 micrograms of the stuff must have a cancer warning label. After conducting tests, Consumer Reports found that a couple of sodas went beyond that limit, including Pepsi and Pepsi One. Malta Goya, a non-alcoholic malt beverage, has almost 11 times more 4-MeI than California allows. None of them have warning labels.
An interesting note to the study is the difference in 4-MeI levels in different states. For example, Pepsi One has four times more of the chemical in New York than in California due to our state's regulations.
The results are huge because half of Americans, on average, drink 2 and a half sodas per day, according to a Gallup poll. So, even if you were to drink only two cans of Pepsi One, you'll still get more than the safe daily amount of 4-MeI.
Meanwhile, the AP is reporting that the FDA is retesting the sodas, and the California Attorney General is looking into the report. The blowback from the soda world is already happening: a spokeswoman for Pepsi told Consumer Reports that the report is wrong, since Americans only drink a fraction of the amount the study tested.
If the report proves to be correct, this will be just another notch on the big belt of delicious, yet cancerous things.
Sponsored message
The entire process is explained in-depth in this video, courtesy of Consumer Reports:
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
