Saturday, February 21, 2015

coke and cancer

Caramel coloring in cola drinks raises risks of cancer – Study

Caramel coloring in cola
The chemical process generated while producing the caramel coloring used in most cola drinks has been found to raise the risks of cancer for one in every 100,000 people that consume the drink – a new research states.
The potential for the manufacturing reaction to produce carcinogens in the drinks was found in laboratory tests carried out by Consumer Reports on 11 different cola drinks; and it was discovered that drinking one of these colas per day is sufficient to expose an individual to 4-methylimidazole or 4-MEI for short, a potentially cancer-causing chemical which is formed through the process of manufacturing the caramel color used to color colas and other widely-used beverages.
While a Californian law requires that drinks that contain a considerable level of 4-MEI must carry warning labels where one person in every 100,000 people can be at risks of exposure to 29 mcg of 4-MEI every day, the testing conducted by Consumer Reports on 110 samples of soda drinks revealed that most drinks contain around 9.5 mcg per liter (mcg/L) to 963 mcg/L.
The researchers were from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future in Baltimore, MD.
The levels of 4-MEI concentrations in soda brands vary, and by states of purchase, but according to the researchers, they “were generally consistent across lots of the same beverage purchased in the same state/area.”
They also added that “Routine consumption of certain beverages can result in 4-MEI exposures greater than 29 mcg a day” – a toxicity level that had been seen in lab mice and rats at the USNational Toxicology Program.
Furthermore, the researchers said they had enough reasons to recommend some soda brands and not others because of carcinogen risks they contain, but they said “State regulatory standards appear to have been effective in reducing exposure to carcinogens in some beverages.”
Lead author Tyler Smith, a program officer with the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, said 4-MEI levels can “vary substantially across samples, even for the same type of beverage.” Smith explains: “For example, for diet colas, certain samples had higher or more variable levels of the compound, while other samples had very low concentrations.”
In the lab sampling, Malta Goya had the highest 4-MEI concentration while Coca-Cola produced the lowest value. California listed 4-MEI as a carcinogen in 2011, under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 – better known as Proposition 65. The authors revealed their results suggest that “federal regulation of 4-MEI in caramel color may be appropriate.”

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