US group calls for FDA ban of soda 'caramel'
* CSPI says coloring additive may lead to cancer
* Pure caramel should be used instead -CSPI
WASHINGTON Feb 16 (Reuters) - Some chemically enhanced caramel food colorings used in widely consumed cola drinks could cause cancer and should be banned, a U.S. consumer advocacy group urged the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday.
Pure caramel is made from melted sugar; but two other approved versions to color food products include the chemical ammonia and produce compounds shown to cause various cancers in animal studies, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) said in a statement.
The group is petitioning the FDA to ban the ammonia-containing caramels, which are also used in other dark-colored soft drinks.
Leading U.S. soft drink makers include Coca-Cola Co (KO.N), PepsiCo Inc (PEP.N) and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc (DPS.N).
Obesity is still a greater health threat from soda, but the chemical reaction between sugar and ammonia can form carcinogens and "still may be causing thousands of cancers in the U.S. population," the group said, citing animal studies conducted by government researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
"Carcinogenic colorings have no place in the food supply, especially considering that their only function is a cosmetic one," CSPI executive director Michael Jacobson said in the statement. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Additional reporting by Martinne Geller in New York; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
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JunkScience.com responded today to the claim by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) that the caramel coloring used in Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other foods is contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals.
CSPI’s claim is based on studies in which laboratory rats were given extremely high doses of 2-methylimidazole (2-MI) and 4-methylimidazole (4-MI). But such studies are entirely unreliable indicators of cancer-causing affects in humans, simply because lab rats are not little people.
In addition to vastly different physiologies, lab rats are bred to be prone to getting cancer. Lab rats are so sensitive to cancer, in fact, that merely varying the quantity of food they consume affects their risk levels.
Moreover, even assuming for the sake of argument that the rat studies were relevant to cancer risk in humans, JunkScience.com calculates that an average person (154 lbs) would have to consume about 154,000 20-ounce bottles of cola per day to be exposed to the same dose of 4-MI as the lab rats. This is obviously impossible.
“CSPI has a long history of foisting junk science-fueled scares on the public, “ said JunkScience.com publisher Steve Milloy. “I guess we’ll be adding a new chapter to our review of CSPI’s history of food terrorism, “False Alarm: A Report on the Center for Science in the Public Interest, 1971-2006,” added Milloy.
The report is on the web at: http://www.junkscience.com/falsealarm.pdf.
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