NEW YORK — There was a warning issued Thursday about the soft drinks you and your children may be consuming every day.

Consumer Reports says some of them contain a possible cancer-causing chemical, CBS 2’s Dr. Max Gomez reported.

The issue is with the caramel coloring in many soft drinks. It is what gives them their brown color. Some contain a possible human carcinogen.

Why is it in there? Can it be removed and what can you do to protect yourself? Here’s what you need to know:

Cola is one of the most popular soft drinks in the country, but now a study from Consumer Reports says that the caramel coloring additive that gives cola – and many other soft drinks – its brown color, can contain a harmful chemical called 4-methylimidazole, or 4-MEI.

‘It was in fact … definitely causes cancer in animal studies. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has also classified 4-MEI as a possible human carcinogen,” Dr. Urvashi Rangan said.

As Dr. Gomez reported, 4-MEI is a byproduct when caramel color is manufactured, but it’s not in all caramel coloring and amounts vary widely in caramel-colored drinks, even when the same brands were tested just a few months apart.

‘Coke came […]