New York: People who consume one or more cans of cold drinks per day
are exposing themselves to a potential carcinogen, warns a new study.
The ingredient, 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) – a possible human
carcinogen – is formed during the manufacture of some kinds of caramel
colour. Caramel colour is a common ingredient in colas and other dark
soft drinks.
“Soft drink consumers are being exposed to an avoidable and
unnecessary cancer risk from an ingredient that is being added to
these beverages simply for aesthetic purposes,” said Keeve Nachman,
senior author of the study.
Building on an analysis of 4-MEI concentrations in 11 different soft
drinks first published by Consumer Reports in 2014, researchers
estimated exposure to 4-MEI from caramel-coloured soft drinks and
modelled the potential cancer burden related to routine soft drink
consumption levels in the United States.
“This unnecessary exposure poses a threat to public health and raises
questions about the continued use of caramel colouring in soda,”
Nachman of Johns Hopkins Center for a Liveable Future (CLF).
Results indicated that levels of 4-MEI could vary substantially across
samples, even for the same type of beverage.
While there is currently no federal limit for 4-MEI in food or
beverages, Consumer Reports petitioned the Food and Drug
Administration last year to set limits for the potential carcinogen.
“This new analysis underscores our belief that people consume
significant amounts of soda that unnecessarily elevate their risk of
cancer over the course of a lifetime,” said Urvashi Rangan, executive
director for Consumer Reports’ Food Safety and Sustainability Center.
The results were published online in the journal PLOS One.
Credit: IANS
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