Coke, Pepsi make changes to avoid cancer warning

NEW YORK (AP) -- Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. are changing the way they make the caramel coloring used in their sodas as a result of a California law that mandates drinks containing a certain level of carcinogens bear a cancer warning label.

The companies said the changes will be expanded nationally to streamline their manufacturing processes. They've already been made for drinks sold in California.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo account for almost 90 percent of the soda market, according to industry tracker Beverage Digest. A representative for Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. was not immediately available for comment.

The American Beverage Association, which represents the broader industry, said its member companies will continue to use caramel coloring in certain products but that adjustments were made to meet California's new standard.

"Consumers will notice no difference in our products and have no reason at all for any health concerns," the association said in a statement.

A representative for Coca-Cola, Diana Garza-Ciarlante, said the company directed its caramel suppliers to modify their manufacturing processes to reduce the levels of the chemical 4-methylimidazole, which can be formed during the cooking process and as a result may be found in trace amounts in many foods.

"While we believe that there is no public health risk that justifies any such change, we did ask our caramel suppliers to take this step so that our products would not be subject to the requirement of a scientifically unfounded warning," Garza-Giarlante said in an email.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group, in February filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of ammonia-sulfite caramel coloring.

A spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration said the petition is being reviewed.

But he noted that a consumer would have to drink more than 1,000 cans of soda a day to reach the doses administered that have shown links to cancer in rodents.

The American Beverage Association also noted that California added the coloring to its list of carcinogens with no studies showing that it causes cancer in humans. It noted that the listing was based on a single study in lab mice and rats.

New Diet Pepsi Can from US Soldier in Iraq. This Pepsi can appears to have a picture of the Twin Towers and a jetliner flying between them !!!

WASHINGTON -- A photograph apparently taken by an American service member of a Pepsi can before departing Iraq has spurred a heated debate online for what some say is a "slap in the face" from the soda maker's Middle East/Africa division.


As U.S. troops left Iraq, U.S. soldier Rolando Martinez reportedly took the photo at right of a Pepsi can he found. Many online, including users who posted to the PepsiCo Facebook page, believe the rendering of a skyline combined with an airplane overhead depict the Twin Towers in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001.


In the wake of the uproar, PepsiCo posted the following message to its Facebook wall:


"We understand that the design of the can be misinterpreted, which was never our intention. The design is one of two Diet Pepsi cans designed for our Middle East/Africa region, which was created by a South African design agency to display the growth of active cities in that region.
"Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us- we appreciate it. We have taken action to change the design of the can."


This doesn't seem to be enough for some consumers, many of whom have called for a boycott of the company.


Check out one of the company's responses in photos.

The can does not directly state the pictured skyline depicts New York City, but many who have posted to Facebook and elsewhere online say at the very least, the design was not well-conceived.


An NBC News affiliate in Colorado reports the picture was viewed on Martinez' Facebook page almost 30,000 times. The link to the original picture seems to be broken. Martinez was helping to close down a base in Iraq following the U.S. withdrawal from war operations in that country, NBC reports.


What do you think? Does this can depict the 9/11 attacks and is this enough for a boycott?


Check out this video