Pepsi Still Contains Carcinogenic Food Coloring, Claims Environmental Group

Though Coca-Cola has reformulated its products both within and without California to no longer contain the cancer-causing chemical 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI), Pepsi products purchased outside of California still contain 4-MEI, the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) announced earlier this month.

Last March, both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo stated they would change their caramel coloring in products nationwide as a result of Proposition 65, which requires companies offering products for sale in California containing chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm to first provide consumers with a health hazard warning.  

Earlier this year, CEH commissioned an independent lab to conduct 4-MEI testing on Coke and Pepsi products.  Coke and Pepsi purchased in California were shown to have been reformulated to contain little to no 4-MEI, and CEH asked ten supporters from across the country to send Coke and Pepsi products purchased in their areas.  According to CEH, lab tests found little or no 4-MEI in nine out of ten Coke products, but showed higher levels of 4-MEI in all ten Pepsi products tested: 4 to 8 times higher than California safety levels.

Industrial production of caramel coloring creates 4-MEI as a by-product, but processing changes can reduce or eliminate production of the chemical without altering the coloring.  California designated 4-MEI as known to the State of California to cause cancer after the National Toxicology Program found “clear evidence” of carcinogenicity of the chemical in animal studies.

Pepsi has responded to CEH to say: “Our caramel coloring suppliers have been working on modifying the manufacturing process to reduce the amount of 4-MEI,” and that the rest of the U.S. will be completed by February 2014.

The Chanler Group’s clients have also filed lawsuits against food manufacturers for selling products containing 4-MEI without the required health hazard warnings, and recently settled with Farmer Bros.

The Chanler Group represents citizen enforcers who, acting in the public interest, commence actions against businesses offering products for sale in California that contain chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm without first providing the health hazard warning required by Proposition 65. Citizen enforcers bringing Proposition 65 actions in the public interest may obtain a Court Judgment imposing civil penalties, an injunction requiring reformulation of products, and/or provision of health hazard warnings. The Chanler Group has represented citizen enforcers of Proposition 65 for more than twenty years.