TweetA contaminant found in two common soda brands could be causing 15,000 cases of cancer in people a year, a new analysis finds.

By Leah Zerbe

Cancer-causing caramel color—the latest reason to give up soda.

Pay any attention to a soda label and you'll find questionable ingredients like sugar in excess amounts, high-fructose corn syrup, or dubious artificial sweeteners. But a new analysis from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has detected a cancer-causer that you won't ever find on the label.

High levels of a carcinogen known as 4-methylimidazole, or 4-MI, are created when certain forms of ammonia are used to create the caramel food dye used in some of the most popular soda brands on the planet. Although CSPI is lobbying the Food and Drug Administration to change label requirements, for now, it's perfectly legal for soda to harbor hidden carcinogens without any disclosure on the label.

The levels of 4-MI found in Coke and Pepsi are projected to cause 15,000 cancers a year, according to the CSPI assessment.

Testing detected concerning levels of 4-MI contamination in both diet and regular versions of Coke and Pepsi. While soda makers aren't intentionally injecting the carcinogen into the drinks, 4-MI forms when ammonia or an ammonia-sulfite combination is used to manufacture caramel coloring. "Coke and Pepsi, with the acquiescence of the FDA, are needlessly exposing millions of Americans to a chemical that causes cancer," says Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of CSPI.

And just as manufacturers add the flame retardant brominated vegetable oil (BVO) to Mountain Dew, citrus sodas and certain varieties of Gatorade to keep the ingredients from separating, 4-MI is added to Pepsi and Coke purely for cosmetic purposes, giving the soda its brown color. To help shoppers better understand what's in their drinks, CSPI is asking FDA to force manufacturers to disclose when they use ammonia-based caramel colorings, listing "ammonia-sulfite process caramel coloring" or "chemically modified caramel coloring" to the label.

In addition to Coke and Pepsi, researchers looked at Whole Foods 365 Cola, Dr. Pepper, and Diet Dr. Pepper. The Pepsi and Coke samples contained 4-MI levels up to five times higher than what would warrant a warning in California. (California's laws on labeling carcinogens are stricter than the law that governs the rest of the country.) Dr. Pepper products tested much lower, but 4-MI levels in those products still pose a cancer risk seven times higher than what the FDA allows for food additives, according to CSPI.

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"Coke and Pepsi, with the acquiescence of the FDA, are needlessly exposing millions of Americans to a chemical that causes cancer," says Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of CSPI.

Disgusting.