Soft Drink-Cancer Link Lawsuit Settled

by Janet Ritz

What do soft drinks, cigarettes and gasoline have in common? Benzene.

That's right. Cancer causing Benzene.

Soft drinks: Two the nation's largest soft drink manufacturers have just agreed to reformulate their soft drinks to exclude the known carcinogen Benzene, which forms when Ascorbic Acid and Sodium Benzoate (a preservative) combine in one product:

Safeway settles benzene soft drink suit

The supermarket market chain, Safeway Inc., has agreed to reformulate soft drinks made with ingredients that can potentially form benzene, according to a recent settlement. The company is one of several soft drink manufacturers that have recently been sued in class action lawsuits over benzene, a known carcinogen. Coca-Cola, a former defendant, agreed to settle last month.

Exposure to significant levels of benzene can lead to increased rates of bone marrow diseases, including leukemia.

http://tinyurl.com/...

The bad news? Not all companies are reformulating:

Other companies named in the lawsuit include: PepsiCo, Sunny Delight, Shasta and Polar.

Benzene:

What makes Benzene so scary? Here's what the CDC has to say:

Long-term exposure to high levels of benzene in the air can cause leukemia, particularly acute myelogenous leukemia, often referred to as AML. This is a cancer of the blood-forming organs. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has determined that benzene is a known carcinogen. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the EPA have determined that benzene is carcinogenic to humans.

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/...

How do you tell if you're drinking Benzene? Here's Consumer Reports' link for determining if benzene is in your beverages.

Both Coke and Pepsi say they have reformulated their drinks by removing ascorbic acid (but not the Sodium Benzoate or Potassium Benzoate...hmmm), but have admitted they don't know how much of their old product is on the shelf.

Also, it's not just ascorbic acid that combines to create Benzene:

Benzene can form in beverages containing benzoate salts (anti­microbials) and either vitamin C (ascorbic acid) or erythorbic acid, a related substance, if certain minerals are present. Heat or light during shipping or storage can increase the amount of benzene formed.

And it's not just in soda:

Benzene exposure can be reduced by limiting contact with gasoline and cigarette smoke. Families are encouraged not to smoke in their house, in enclosed environments, or near their children.

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/...

That's right. Cigarette smoke and gasoline.

And soda.

So what are government agencies doing about this? Not enough, according to this OP-ED in the SF Chronicle:

Too many agencies don't protect our food

GROUPS of consumers have prevailed in separate settlements announced over the past several weeks against Safeway stores and the Coca-Cola Co. in litigation aimed at forcing soft-drink manufacturers to reformulate their beverages so that a potential benzene-causing combination of ingredients will not be used in their drinks.

While news of the legal settlements is certainly good, there are many other manufacturers still hedging on their decision to reformulate. It shouldn't have to take legal battles filed by concerned consumers to stop an industry practice that is risky, can easily be avoided and should have been addressed by the government a long time ago. Why haven't the government agencies charged with protecting our food, beverages and water stepped in? Welcome to the alphabet soup of food safety regulation - where various agencies can impose varying rules that allow important safety issues to slip between agency jurisdictions...

http://www.sfgate.com/...

Hmm... Government agencies and food safety. Where have we heard this before?

Soft drinks, cigarettes and gasoline...

What does Consumer Reports think about all of this?

Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, thinks the FDA should restrict benzene in all beverages to the limit set for drinking water and require manufacturers to take steps to prevent benzene formation by changing the products’ formulation or manufacturing process.

Good idea.

Here's the link to the SF Chronicle Story.

Here's the link to the DHHS warning on Benzene in Soft Drinks.

Here's the link to the story about the lawsuit.

Here's the link to Consumer Reports' warning (this has product names)

I'm going to go make some fresh orange juice (from the oranges off the tree in my back yard) now.

Soda and gasoline and cigarettes, oh, my...

Lights at Night Linked to Breast Cancer

by Janet Ritz

A study of NASA satellite data, overlaid with reported cancer statistics, has identified nighttime exposure to lighted areas as a risk factor for breast cancer:

Women who live in neighborhoods with large amounts of nighttime illumination are more likely to get breast cancer than those who live in areas where nocturnal darkness prevails, according to an unusual study that overlaid satellite images of Earth onto cancer registries.

"By no means are we saying that light at night is the only or the major risk factor for breast cancer," said Itai Kloog, of the University of Haifa, who led the new work. "But we found a clear and strong correlation that should be taken into consideration."

The mechanism of such a link, if real, remains mysterious, but many scientists suspect that melatonin is key.

A tumor suppressing hormone long known to be impacted by the nighttime illumination, melatonin requires darkness for its synthesis and release:

Melatonin is a neurohormone produced in the brain by the pineal gland, from the amino acid tryptophan. The synthesis and release of melatonin are stimulated by darkness and suppressed by light, suggesting the involvement of melatonin in circadian rhythm and regulation of diverse body functions.

The study has not recommended melatonin supplementation. Not enough is known about the melatonin connection. Further studies will be required.

According to the Washington Post, the World Health Organization has been studying the hormonal impact of nighttime illumination, focusing on breast cancer rates among female night shift workers. When the studies revealed a 60% greater incidence of breast cancer among nurses, flight attendants and others, they classified such night shift work as a possible carcinogen. Work with laboratory rats have also produced similar results. Those who were kept in illuminated cages showed a higher incidence of cancer, whereas those in darkened cages do not.

The study looked at both breast cancer and lung cancer rates against the satellite data as a control point. Lung cancer is not thought to be impacted by illumination. The study bore out the difference in the statistics. Breast cancer was more prevalent in illuminated areas.

"The study has limitations," including not measuring levels of indoor lighting, "but it supports the overall idea," [Jim] Burch, [a University of South Carolina epidemiologist and biostatistician], who found the study "fascinating," said. "I think there is enough evidence to suggest we ought to be thinking about this more carefully."

Outside illumination, as well as "blue" type light (i.e. computer screens), are seen as melatonin suppressors. In addition, there is concern that the new, more energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs, which are more suppressive than incandescent bulbs, may be an impact, as well.

The recommendation: Keep your bedroom dark and set your circadian rhythm (internal clock) to sleep at night.

Cross-posted on IBS, The Oxford Press, ABC-7 Denver, KCCI, KCRA, KIRO, KITV, KMBC, KTVU, WAPT, WCVB, WFTV, WMTW, WPBF, WRTV, WSBTV, WTAE, WUMR and The Oxford Press.