4 Methylimidazole - weakish/cheat GitHub Wiki

4-Methylimidazole may be formed in the browning of certain foods through the Maillard reaction between carbohydrates and amino-containing compounds. In particular, it is found in roasted foods, grilled meats, coffee and in types of caramel coloring produced with ammonia-based processes.

It may arise also by fermentation.

At very high doses (360 mg/kg of body weight), 4-methylimidazole is a convulsant for rabbits, mice and chicks, and was the likely cause of acute intoxication observed in cattle fed with ammoniated, sugar-containing cattle feed supplements in the 1960s.

In response to high 4-MEI levels used in studies, US FDA spokesperson Doug Karas stated, "[a] person would have to drink more than a thousand cans of soda in a day to match the doses administered in studies that showed links to cancer in rodents."

Based on these studies, caramel coloring of all types are considered safe and are approved by many leading regulatory agencies around the world, such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and, most recently, the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA). The European Union requires class III caramels to contain <200 mg/kg 4-MeI and class IV caramels to contain <250 mg/kg 4-MEI (color adjusted).