Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/031383_caram ... _cola.html
Thursday, February 17, 2011
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com
(NaturalNews) The "caramel coloring" used to color all the top cola brands isn't natural caramel coloring at all. Instead, it's made by reacting sugars with ammonia and sulfites at high temperatures. This reaction results in the formation of 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole, both of which are chemicals documented by the U.S. government to cause cancer in mammals.
This is all coming to light thanks to an effort by the CSPI, which has now filed a regulatory petition to ban these chemicals from colas (http://www.cspinet.org/new/20110216...).
The National Toxicology Program has conducted animal studies on these toxic chemicals found in colas, concluding there is "clear evidence" that 2-MI and 4-MI are animal carcinogens.
The call to ban these chemicals from use in foods was joined by five carcinogenesis experts who said, "The American public should not be exposed to any cancer risk whatsoever as a result of consuming such chemicals, especially when they serve a non-essential, cosmetic purpose." (http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/experts-...)
That letter explains:
4-methylimidazole (4-MI) causes lung tumors in male and female mice and mononuclear cell leukemia in female rats. Other NTP studies found that 2-methylimidazole caused liver tumors in male and female mice, thyroid tumors in male mice, and precancerous thyroid changes in female mice. In rats, 4-MI caused an increased rate of tumors in thyroid follicular cells in females and an increased rate of hyperplasia in thyroid follicular cells in males.
Even the term "caramel coloring" is extremely misleading to consumers, because most people think it's related to caramel candy, which is made by browning sugar under heat. But the "caramel coloring" used in colas is made by exposing sugars to industrial chemicals (ammonia and sulfites), resulting in a cocktail of cancer-causing chemicals.
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031383_caram ... z1EQKDWNVd
