Coke and Pepsi Remove Carcinogen

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OLIVIA CHEUNG
News Editor

Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo. Inc., who, together, both account for ninety percent of the soda market, have decided to change their manufacturing processes.

As a result of a California law that mandates drinks containing a certain level of carcinogens to come with a cancer warning label, the two companies have decided to drop the potential carcinogen, 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI), instead of altering their labels.

This decision came after consumer-advocacy group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, petitioned to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban the chemical. This additive is notably used in the caramel coloring often found in soft-drink products.
The FDA declared Coke and Pepsi’s use of the chemical to be safe at its current level, but the companies ultimately decided to remove the compound.

“While we believe that there is no public health risk that justifies any such change, we did ask our caramel suppliers to take this step so that our products would not be subject to the requirement of a scientifically unfounded warning,” Coca-Cola representative Diana Garza-Ciarlante told the Associated Press.

However, both Pepsi and Coke claim that this is not a change to the soda recipe, saying that consumers will not notice the difference in taste.

“The caramel color in all of our products has been, is and always will be safe, and the Coca-Cola Company is not changing the world-famous formula for our Coca-Cola beverages. Over the years, we have updated our manufacturing processes from time to time, but never altered our secret formula,” Coke spokesperson Ben Sheidler said in an email to FORBES.

Despite the American Beverage Association (ABA) pointing out that there is no scientific evidence that the chemical is a threat to the human health, its member companies had made adjustments to meet California’s new standard but still uses caramel coloring in certain products.

“I’m indifferent about this, since although the entire issue may seem somewhat [ambiguous], people will most likely still drink the sodas, since the carcinogen didn’t actually damage one’s health,” sophomore Diana Ly said. “Change is hard nowadays and it’s just […] simpler to stick to what they already know.”