panas: coca cola dan pepsi tukar ramuan minuman karbonat elak letak label amaran barah

Pengeluar minuman terkenal Coca-Cola dan Pepsi akan menukar ramuan minuman berkarbonat mereka untuk mengelak daripada meletakkan label amaran barah yang diwajibkan di sisi undang-undang, di setiap botol minuman itu.

Perubahan itu dibuat selepas California meletakkan bahan kimia 4-methylimidazole, yang digunakan dalam pewarna karamel di kedua-dua jenis minuman itu dalam senarai karsinogen.


Kedua-dua Persatuan Minuman Amerika dan Pentadbiran Ubatan dan Makanan AS berkata, tiada bukti bahan kimia itu menimbulkan risiko kesihatan kepada manusia. - BBC

sumber asal: myMetro

info tambahan:

Spokeswoman Diana Garza-Ciarlante told the Associated Press news agency they wanted to ensure their products "would not be subject to the requirement of a scientifically unfounded warning".

The chemical has been linked to cancer in mice and rats, according to one study, but there is no evidence that it poses a health risk to humans, said the American Beverage Association, which represents the wider industry.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claims a person would need to drink more than 1,000 cans of Coke or Pepsi a day to take in the same dose of the chemical that was given to the animals in the lab test.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo account for nearly 90% of the US fizzy drink market, according to one industry tracker, Beverage Digest.

source: BBC News

4-methylimidazole (4-MEI)

# Formed naturally in the heating and browning process
# Occurs in caramel colouring as well as some roasted and cooked foods
# Can be in some cleaning, photographic and agricultural chemicals, dyes and pharmaceuticals
# Exposure can be through consumption or during manufacturing process
Source: California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

There has been concern about the presence of 4-MEI in caramel color (which is the most used food and beverage coloring), typically at a concentration between 50 and 700 ppm.[4]. Dark beers and common brands of cola drinks may contain more than 100 μg of this compound per 12-ounce serving.

At very high doses (360 mg/kg of body weight), 4-methylimidazole is a convulsant for rabbits, mice and chicks, and was the likely cause of acute intoxication observed in cattle fed with ammoniated sugar-containing cattle feed supplements in the 1960s. On the other hand, several studies found no ill effect in rats and dogs for the concentrations found in caramel coloring.

A study even found that 4-MEI had an anti-carcinogenic effect on rats. Based on these studies, caramel coloring of all types are considered safe. In the European Union the legal limit for 4-MEI in caramel coloring is 250 mg/kg.

However, a 2007 study by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) found that high doses of 4-MEI were carcinogenic in mice and in female rats. Similar effects were observed for the isomer 2-methylimidazole, also found in caramel coloring. It also has been claimed that the reduction in tumor rates seen by Chan and others were due to lower body weight rather than a true anti-carcinogenic effect.

In January 2011 California added 4-MEI to its list of probable carcinogens and stipulated 16 μg per day as the "No Significant Risk Level" intake. This is considerably less than the mean intake of 4-MEI by regular cola drinkers.

The food industry has strongly opposed that decision, as it implies the need for additional warning labels on many products, and it disputes the validity of the NTP study. In March 2012 it was announced that both Coca-Cola and Pepsi have had their caramel color suppliers modify their manufacturing processes in order to meet the new California standard; as of the announcement the changes had already been made for beverages sold in California.

The recipe is not changing in Europe, so the 4-MEI level will remain the same.

source: wikipedia

simieY: da hampir 2 tahun berhenti minum air berkarbonat =)