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The Scary Ingredients in Soft Drinks

Written by Australian Institute of Food Safety | Jan 17, 2013 5:00:00 AM

Everyone knows that soft drinks are not especially healthy. These beverages include high amounts of sugar and many of them have caffeine in them. Some states throughout the US are beginning a project to limit the sales of sodas. This makes one wonder, just how dangerous are soft drinks?

No one would argue that soft drinks are healthy, but many people are not aware of some of the other dangers that can be found in the beverages. You may be surprised at what you find is in your soft drinks, and that does not just include sodas in the US, but in Australia as well.

Phosphorus

This ingredient has been found to be one of the biggest causes of osteoporosis in humans. It is found is fairly high amounts in soft drinks.

Phosphoric Acid

This ingredient is found in all soft drinks and can be dangerous in a couple of ways. To begin with, it can cause corrosion to the tooth enamel, making them more susceptible to decay. Additionally, it can cause damage to the kidneys.

Synthetic Caramel Colour 4-Methylimidazole

The California government has done testing that seems to indicate this colour could be responsible for cancer.

Brominated Vegetable Oil

Also called BVO, this ingredient is used in the soft drinks to keep them clear (in the cases of clear type sodas like Mountain Dew). BVO is also used as a flame retardant in plastics. This immediately creates concern. The ingredient has been found to be very dangerous in some countries and has even been banned by countries of the EU and in Japan.

Because there are many different scary ingredients in soft drinks, more and more countries are cracking down on how much of the soft drink can be served at one time. This is an attempt to limit the consumption of potentially dangerous chemicals.