1,000 cans of soda a day? Cancer may be least of your woes

July 6, 2013

By Chris Reed

Greens’ conviction that human beings are the worst thing to ever happen to Gaia manifests itself in water-runoff rules that seek a return to water purity seen last in the days before European explorers arrived in North America. It’s also pretty plain in reflexive opposition to growth or to anything that allegedly will despoil “view planes” anywhere — even “green energy” projects.

But one aspect of this de facto purification ritual that doesn’t get as much attention is the insane determination to treat microscopic trace evidence of toxic chemicals as harbingers of medical disaster. This week, we’ve seen a classic example of this hysteria masquerading as concern about public health. This is from a Wednesday AP report:

“NEW YORK — 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.

“In March, PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. both said they would adjust their formulas nationally after California passed a law mandating drinks containing a certain level of carcinogens come with a cancer warning label. The changes were made for drinks sold in California when the law passed.

“The chemical is 4-methylimidazole, or 4-Mel, which can form during the cooking process and, as a result, may be found in trace amounts in many foods.

“Watchdog group The Center for Environmental Health found via testing that while Coke products no longer test positive for the chemical, Pepsi products sold outside of California still do.”

No studies show it causes cancer in humans. So what, let’s ban it anyways!

But just how big a threat is “4-Mel”? AP buried those facts:

“Trace amounts of 4-Mel have not been linked to cancer in humans. The American Beverage Association said 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.

“The Food and Drug Administration has also said 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.”

Congratulations to The Center for Environmental Health for figuring out such a fundraising scam. Congrats to the idiots in the Legislature who bought the center’s scam so they could burnish their we-love-Gaia reputations.

And apologies to Pepsi and Coke for having to play along with this idiotic quasi-religious alarmism.