1,000 cans of Pepsi daily may be toxic as a cancer causing ingredient leads the headlines

An environmental group said Wednesday that the caramel coloring used in Pepsi still contains a worrisome level of a carcinogen, even after the drink maker said it would change its formula.

The headlines were full of emotion driven scare tactics:

Pepsi causes cancer? According to the FDA, only if you drink 1,000 cans a day

“Group finds cancer-causing carcinogen in Pepsi” or “Pepsi: Cancer for a new generation?” and “Pepsi still contains cancer-causing ingredient”

The carcinogen, 4-methylimidazole, is a byproduct created during the production of caramel coloring. As the caramel coloring goes under high pressures and temperatures, sugars react with ammonia and sulfites, forming the 4-MEI byproduct.

The FDA maintains that a person would have to drink more than 1,000 cans of soda a day to reach the doses that have shown links to cancer in rodents. 

Various articles note that most Americans drink 1-2 20 oz. sodas daily, but fail to mention the lack of risk associated with the normal daily consumption.

PepsiCo now says its “coloring suppliers have been working on modifying the manufacturing process to reduce the amount of 4-MEI,” adding that drinks sold in the rest of the U.S. (outside of California) will have reduced levels of the chemical “by February 2014.”

In a new statement the company elaborated: “We strongly refute any claim that any product we sell anywhere is unsafe. The safety of our products is PepsiCo’s top priority, and we abide by the regulatory guidelines everywhere we do business,” PepsiCo said. “While we meet the strict FDA guidelines, when the regulatory requirements changed in California PepsiCo moved immediately to meet the new requirements and, in order to maintain a harmonized supply chain, globally committed to rolling out the changes across the rest of the U.S. and internationally.”