#killer cola

Killer Cola?

by Dr. Jonathan Wright

Picture for a moment a can of cola — Coke, Pepsi, a generic brand simply named “Cola,” it doesn’t matter what it says on the can. They’re all more or less the same, right? Fizzy, cola flavor…and that deep brown hue provided by “caramel coloring.”

You know, it’s funny — I just happen to be eating a (rather tasty) homemade caramel as I write this. (Seriously, I didn’t plan that!)

But the coloring used in that soda (and other foods) has just about zero in common with the sticky confection I just popped in my mouth. My treat resulted from the kitchen magic of heating sugar in a saucepan, while the stuff in cola is made through a high-pressure and -temperature reaction between sugar and ammonia and sulfites.

Yum, yum.

The reaction that results in “caramel” (quotes because, face it, that ain’t caramel) coloring also forms 2-methylimidazole (2-MI) and 4 methylimidazole (4-MI). In government studies, these beauties caused several types of cancer (lung, liver, thyroid) in lab animals.

They’ve been deemed animal carcinogens, which usually means a compound is a cancer threat for humans, too. 4-MI also appears on California’s list of “chemicals known to the state to cause cancer.”

And there are significant levels of these carcinogenic compounds in at least five brands of cola, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis. The levels of 4-MI in these drinks may be causing thousands of cancers.

As the executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest put it, these have no place in the food supply, especially considering they’re only there for cosmetic reasons. So they’ve petitioned the FDA for a ban of colorings made through the ammonia process.

When consumer advocacy website The Consumerist reached out to Coke and Pepsi for comment on the petition, they were passed along to the ABA instead. Of course, all of this didn’t sit too well with the American Beverage Association.

They argue that 4-MI is “not a threat to human health.” Instead, they claim that the Center for Science in the Public Interest is out to get them — that they’re dedicated to attacking the food and beverage industry (just for fun, I guess?).

Plus, they say, 4-MI is in almost everything! So, why pick on Coke and Pepsi, huh? (Which isn’t what’s being done — a ban on “caramel” coloring would affect a wide variety of products.)

And of course they wrap it all up by reminding us that safety is their number one concern! Thanks, ABA! I guess that’s why high fructose corn syrup is in…oh, just about everything!

I’m not sure how this will pan out, but I highly doubt we’ll be waving goodbye to that cola color anytime soon…in the meantime, I think I’ll continue to stick with good ol’ water (and my morning cup of coffee!).