Cola Color Could Cause Cancer
From the front line of the food wars comes a new warning for those who regularly consume beverages and condiments that contain caramel coloring.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest is asking the FDA to ban all food products with an artificially dark color, including Coke, Pepsi and other cola drinks, Worcestershire sauce, whiskey and some dark beers.
Caramel coloring doesn’t add anything to the foods except…color. It’s not a preservative and it adds no nutritional value. The caramel coloring that concerns some scientists breaks down sugars using ammonia and in some cases cancer-causing chemicals get released during the reaction.
That has some scientists concerned. But others say that in order to get a cumulative effect of the tiny amounts of carcinogenic chemicals, you would need to drink 10,000 Coca-Colas a day for a lifetime.
Nevertheless the state of California is considering putting warning labels on Coke and other products containing caramel coloring. The beverage industry says there is no cancer-causing agents in any of its products.
Even if the risk is minimal, CSPI says take the color out and you remove the problem.
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