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Campaigners
at The Food Commission have found more than 1,000 food, drink and
medicine products that contain one or more of the seven food
additives that have been linked to increased hyperactivity in
susceptible children.
The link to hyperactivity was
shown in September 2007, when research commissioned by the UK's Food
Standards Agency was published.
The list of products is available
online at www.actiononadditives.com.
Action on Additives campaign co-ordinator Anna Glayzer says 'One
thousand products seems like a lot, but we believe there are
hundreds, if not thousands, more products for sale in the UK that
contain these additives. We found the additives in products such as
sweets, cakes, drinks and medicines - many of which are clearly
targeted at children.'
300 different manufacturers
appear on the database, with Cadbury contributing the most products
so far (see table below), closely followed by the KCB Group and the
high street chain Woolworths.
The Food Standards Agency, which
commissioned the research on food additives, has advised that, 'If
parents are concerned about any additives they should remember that,
by law, food additives must be listed on the label so they can make
the choice to avoid the product if they want to.' Glayzer challenges,
'Our findings show that this advice is very difficult to follow.
Labels on the products we found were hard to read and inconsistent,
with additives listed sometimes by name, sometimes by E-number.'
She pointed out, 'The survey
found a great many examples of packaging designed specifically to
appeal to children, using cartoon characters and bright colours, as
well as products aimed at concerned parents that give a false
impression of being healthy. Where medicines contain these additives,
parents may have little choice but to administer them. We would also
like to stress that parents cannot check food served by caterers and
restaurants, where no ingredients list is offered.'
The Food Standards Agency has not
banned the food additives but has asked the European Food Safety
Authority (EFSA) to review the evidence. EFSA are expected to give
their opinion soon.
The seven food additives linked
to hyperactive behaviour in children are;
* E102 Tartrazine
* E104 Quinoline Yellow
* E110 Sunset Yellow
* E122 Carmoisine
* E124 Ponceau 4R
* E129 Allura Red
* E211 Sodium Benzoate
The first six are artificial
colourings, the seventh is a preservative. The additives may be
listed by E number or name.
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Some of the main users of the
food additives linked to hyperactivity in susceptible children, based
on data available on the www.actiononadditives.com
database at 8th March 2008
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Manufacturer |
Total products found |
Tartrazine (E102) |
Quinoline yellow (E104) |
Sunset yellow (E110) |
Carmoisine (E122) |
Ponceau 4R (E124) |
Allura red (E129) |
Sodium benzoate (E211) |
|
Cadbury (confectionery) |
37 |
3 |
13 |
6 |
9 |
3 |
16 |
0 |
|
KCB Group (baked goods) |
30 |
29 |
0 |
20 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
|
Woolworths |
23 |
1 |
13 |
8 |
18 |
1 |
8 |
0 |
|
Buzz Sweets |
22 |
3 |
12 |
6 |
10 |
4 |
11 |
0 |
|
Ginni Enterprises
Ltd (sweets) |
21 |
5 |
13 |
13 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
0 |
|
Lidl supermarket |
20 |
6 |
11 |
9 |
3 |
5 |
7 |
1 |
|
Swizzels Matlow (sweets) |
19 |
0 |
12 |
13 |
8 |
13 |
5 |
0 |
|
Bobby's Foods Plc (sweets) |
18 |
2 |
7 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
9 |
8 |
|
Hartley's Jelly |
18 |
0 |
4 |
8 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
|
Haribo (sweets) |
15 |
1 |
13 |
8 |
1 |
10 |
6 |
0 |
|
Coca Cola (beverages) |
14 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
13 |
|
Tesco supermarket |
13 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
|
Mars / Masterfoods |
13 |
0 |
9 |
3 |
8 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
|
Zed Candy (sweets) |
13 |
3 |
11 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
|
Morrisons supermarket |
12 |
0 |
6 |
3 |
7 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Wrigley chewing gum |
7 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
For lots more information please
use the free search facility on the online database at www.actiononadditives.com |
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