FDA urged to ban carcinogenic coloring

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- The "caramel coloring" used in some soft drinks and food is contaminated with two cancer-causing chemicals and should be banned, a U.S. non-profit group says.

Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, says in contrast to the caramel consumers may make at home by melting sugar, butter and cream in a saucepan, the artificial brown coloring is made by reacting sugars with ammonia and sulfites under high pressure and temperatures.

The National Toxicology Program, the division of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, says there is "clear evidence" that both 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole are animal carcinogens, Jacobson says.

"Carcinogenic colorings have no place in the food supply, especially considering that their only function is a cosmetic one," Jacobson says in a statement. "The Food and Drug Administration should act quickly to revoke its approval of caramel colorings made with ammonia."

Federal regulations distinguish among four types of caramel coloring; two are produced with ammonia and two without it, and the CSPI filed a regulatory petition Wednesday to ban the two made with ammonia.

In response to the CSPI announcement, the American Beverage Association released a statement that says 4-MEI is not a threat to human health and there is no evidence that 4-MEI causes cancer in humans.

"No health regulatory agency around the globe, including the FDA has said that 4-MEI is a human carcinogen," the ABA says.

"This petition is nothing more than another attempt to scare consumers by an advocacy group long-dedicated to attacking the food and beverage industry."