Vani Hari on Class IV caramel coloring: warns against

Hari’s 2014 Starbucks campaign targeted Class IV caramel coloring in the Pumpkin Spice Latte. She said the coloring agent’s byproduct, 4-MEI (4-methylimidazole), is classified as a possible human carcinogen by the National Toxicology Program and IARC, and her ingredient-list post about the latte went viral with more than 10 million views, per Earth911.

Her stated reasoning was that consumers ordering a seasonal drink had no idea it contained an industrial coloring agent with a contested safety profile — and that Starbucks could make the drink without it. Starbucks agreed to remove the coloring (with the timeline undisclosed at the time).

After the campaign, she published a homemade DIY Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe so followers could get the flavor without what she called the risky additive — the origin of her homemade-alternatives approach.

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