連結：Consumer Reports Food Coloring Scare: No Need to Give Up Soda Just Yet
美國《消費者報告》檢驗了12種汽水，發現Pepsi One的焦糖色素，含致癌化合物4-甲基咪唑（4-MEI）量超標，但未貼上警告標語。《消費者報告》檢驗了12種汽水，包括可樂、百事、雪碧等，報告發現Pepsi One同Malta Goya，4-MEI的含量超標，但未按加州法例貼出可致癌的警告標語。而雪碧並未驗出含4-MEI，而可口可樂的4-MEI含量在低水平。
連結：Caramel color: The health risk that may be in your soda（原始消費者報導）
Caramel color, added to many soft drinks and some foods to turn them brown, may sound harmless, even appetizing. But in no way does it resemble real caramel. Some types of this artificial coloring contain a potentially carcinogenic chemical called 4-methylimidazole (4-MeI). Under California’s Proposition 65 law, any food or beverage sold in the state that exposes consumers to more than 29 micrograms of 4-MeI per day is supposed to carry a health-warning label. In recent Consumer Reports’ tests, each of the 12-ounce samples of Pepsi One and Malta Goya had more than 29 micrograms per can or bottle. While we cannot say that this violates California’s Prop 65, we believe that these levels are too high, and we have asked the California Attorney General to investigate.
Caramel color is the single most used food coloring in the world, according to a 2013 report from market research firms Mintel and Leatherhead Food Research. “There’s no reason why consumers should be exposed to an avoidable and unnecessary risk that can stem from coloring food brown,” says Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D., toxicologist and executive director of Consumer Reports’ Food Safety & Sustainability Center. “Manufacturers have lower 4-MeI alternatives available to them. Ideally there would be no 4-MeI in food.”
小編評：台灣已經炒到爛的焦糖色素4-MEI議題，美國再次被拿出來鞭了。
連結：全球促食安 美飲料商改配方
飲料大廠百事公司（PepsiCo Inc.）就是一例。去年百事宣布，運動飲料「開特力」（Gatorade）調色時，不會再添加溴化植物油，而會以其他方法替代；星巴克（Starbucks）前年也說，接到「多個管道」提出的意見後，將停止以磨碎的蟲製作胭脂紅染料；卡夫食品（Kraft Foods）也因為聽到家長心聲，決定日後製造通心粉與起司時，以天然染料萃取物取代人工染色劑。
分析指出，飲料商的種種作為反映消費者心態的轉變。過去消費者只能消極拒買，現在卻決心起而行，主動對製造商施壓。不過，食品與飲料商對於改變配方可能還是很敏感，例如連鎖企業Chick-fil-A就拿掉沾醬與醬汁使用的人工染色劑，以及高果糖玉米糖漿成分，卻未告知消費者。
小編評：國內外的食品製造商都面臨了一樣的問題，消費者意識抬頭，消極抵制轉為積極發聲。