Coke and Pepsi alter recipe to avoid cancer warning

The new recipe for caramel coloring in beverages is less than 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) - a chemical that California has added to its list of carcinogens.

The change to the recipe has already been introduced in California, but will be launched in the U.S..

Coca-Cola says there is no health risk to justify the change.

'No risk'

The spokeswoman Diana Garza-Ciarlante told the Associated Press news agency that wanted to ensure that their products "not subject to the requirement of notice of scientific foundation."

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

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that a person would have to drink more than 1,000 cans of Coca-Cola or Pepsi a day to take the same dose of the chemical that was given to animals in laboratory testing.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo account for almost 90% of U.S. soft drink market, according to industry tracker, Beverage Digest.

The companies say to change their recipes throughout the U.S., not only in California, makes the drinks more efficient to manufacture.

In a statement from Coca-Cola added that the manufacturing process in Europe would not change.

He said that apart from California, "not a single regulatory agency in the world believes that public exposure to 4-MEI as present in candy as a problem."

BBC