By Bill Tomson, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Testing shows that levels of a carcinogen linked to the caramel coloring chemical in Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola are too high and threaten consumers, the group Center for Science in the Public Interest said Monday.
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) and PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) are exposing consumers to a chemical that has caused cancer in rodents, the group CSPI said, but the companies were quick to object through a statement issued by the industry group American Beverage Association.
"This is nothing more than CSPI scare tactics, and their claims are outrageous," the association said.
Coke and Diet Coke had between 103 an 146 micrograms of the chemical 4- methylimidazole, or 4-MI, in each 12-ounce can, according to the tests that the group CSPI said it commissioned. The range was 145 to 153 micrograms for Pepsi and Diet Pepsi.
CSPI said those levels far exceeded what can be safely consumed and compared the results to the maximum safety level set by California of 29 micrograms.
But California, the American Beverage Association responded, "added 4-MI to its list of carcinogens with no studies showing that it causes cancer in humans."
The Food and Drug Administration is now "working with manufacturers to determine the actual usage of these caramel colors and the amount of 4-MI found in colas and other food products," a spokesman said Monday.
Based on the science available so far from studies, the FDA spokesman said, "a consumer would have to consume well over a thousand cans of soda a day to reach the doses administered in the studies that have shown links to cancer in rodents."
CSPI said it was told by Pepsi that the company has switched to a new coloring in California that contains less of the 4-MI chemical and "plans to do the same in the rest of the country."
Read more here:
Consumer Group Claims Coke, Pepsi Contain Carcinogens
