![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Study indicates soft drinks can damage DNA in children
London, May 28: Boffins are warning parents not to let their kids consume too much of soft drinks, for not only can these beverages lead to tooth decay, but as it turns out, a common preservative used in them can switch off vital parts of DNA, causing serious damage to cells.
Peter Piper, a molecular biology expert at Sheffield University, carried out a research and found that E211 or sodium benzonate - found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max - can cause serious damage to DNA in the mitochondria .
"These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it, they knock it out altogether," the Daily Mail quoted him, as telling a Sunday newspaper.
"The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously," he said.
Piper added that laboratory tests carried out also suggest that could also result in degenerative diseases such as Parkinson`s and liver cirrhosis.
"And there is a whole array of diseases now being tied to damage-to this DNA - Parkinson`s and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing," he said.
Sodium benzoate is used to kill yeast, bacteria, and fungi in soft drinks, jam, fruit juice and salad dressing. When mixed with vitamin C it forms benzene, a carcinogenic substance.
Professor Piper also said that tests on sodium benzoate carried out by the European Union and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration were too old to be adequate.
"By the criteria of modern safety testing, the safety tests were inadequate. Like all things, safety testing moves forward and you can conduct a much more rigorous safety test than you could 50 years ago. We are feeding vast amounts of them to children inadvertently. Is this a completely safe process?" Prof Piper said.
However, the UK’s Food Standards Agency, as well as drinks manufacturers in the country insisted that the preservative had been thoroughly assessed before it was approved for use.
A spokesman for the Food Standards Agency said: "Sodium benzoate and benzoic acid are approved for food use. Food additives are only permitted for use after a long and careful process of evaluation. This includes rigorous assessments for safety, undertaken by independent scientific committees.
"The FSA is aware of Professor Piper`s paper, looking at the effect of sodium benzoate on yeast cells as published in 1999. This paper has already been considered by the agency and the relevance of this research to humans is unclear."
Richard Laming, of the British Soft Drinks Association added: "All ingredients used by the soft drinks industry are considered as safe to use by the FSA. The agency has assured us that the apparent concerns regarding sodium benzoate have already been investigated and it sees no reason to change its view that sodium benzoate is safe. Consumers can continue to enjoy soft drinks in the full confidence that they are safe to drink."
A spokesman for Coca-Cola, which makes Fanta, said: "All our ingredients have been approved as safe by the food regulatory authorities in Britain and the EU, and that is where we take our guidance from."
A spokesman for Britvic, which makes Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Max, also insisted that any preservatives being used in their drinks had to pass through rigorous tests before the company though about using it.
"We will only use ingredients that are thoroughly tested and approved for use by the FSA in the UK and approved by the EU," he said.
Bureau Report
Peter Piper, a molecular biology expert at Sheffield University, carried out a research and found that E211 or sodium benzonate - found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max - can cause serious damage to DNA in the mitochondria .
"These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it, they knock it out altogether," the Daily Mail quoted him, as telling a Sunday newspaper.
"The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously," he said.
Piper added that laboratory tests carried out also suggest that could also result in degenerative diseases such as Parkinson`s and liver cirrhosis.
"And there is a whole array of diseases now being tied to damage-to this DNA - Parkinson`s and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing," he said.
Sodium benzoate is used to kill yeast, bacteria, and fungi in soft drinks, jam, fruit juice and salad dressing. When mixed with vitamin C it forms benzene, a carcinogenic substance.
Professor Piper also said that tests on sodium benzoate carried out by the European Union and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration were too old to be adequate.
"By the criteria of modern safety testing, the safety tests were inadequate. Like all things, safety testing moves forward and you can conduct a much more rigorous safety test than you could 50 years ago. We are feeding vast amounts of them to children inadvertently. Is this a completely safe process?" Prof Piper said.
However, the UK’s Food Standards Agency, as well as drinks manufacturers in the country insisted that the preservative had been thoroughly assessed before it was approved for use.
A spokesman for the Food Standards Agency said: "Sodium benzoate and benzoic acid are approved for food use. Food additives are only permitted for use after a long and careful process of evaluation. This includes rigorous assessments for safety, undertaken by independent scientific committees.
"The FSA is aware of Professor Piper`s paper, looking at the effect of sodium benzoate on yeast cells as published in 1999. This paper has already been considered by the agency and the relevance of this research to humans is unclear."
Richard Laming, of the British Soft Drinks Association added: "All ingredients used by the soft drinks industry are considered as safe to use by the FSA. The agency has assured us that the apparent concerns regarding sodium benzoate have already been investigated and it sees no reason to change its view that sodium benzoate is safe. Consumers can continue to enjoy soft drinks in the full confidence that they are safe to drink."
A spokesman for Coca-Cola, which makes Fanta, said: "All our ingredients have been approved as safe by the food regulatory authorities in Britain and the EU, and that is where we take our guidance from."
A spokesman for Britvic, which makes Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Max, also insisted that any preservatives being used in their drinks had to pass through rigorous tests before the company though about using it.
"We will only use ingredients that are thoroughly tested and approved for use by the FSA in the UK and approved by the EU," he said.
Bureau Report
no subject
no subject
Soft Drinks: Potential Health Hazards Discussion
(Anonymous) 2007-05-30 12:34 am (UTC)(link)I thought perhaps you may also find this related post interesting to you:
Longevity Science: Soft Drinks Linked to Aging ? (http://longevity-science.blogspot.com/2007/05/soft-drinks-linked-to-aging.html)
http://longevity-science.blogspot.com/2007/05/soft-drinks-linked-to-aging.html (http://longevity-science.blogspot.com/2007/05/soft-drinks-linked-to-aging.html)
no subject
no subject
You are very welcome.
no subject
I rarely let my kids have soda. On special occasions, they can (birthdays, parties, holidays) but even then it has to be clear soda like Sprite or orange pop. Though they whine about wanting it more, they know better, and are really good about limiting themselves.