The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has ruled against the Food Commission's calls for a complete ban on food additives.

Food campaigners are up in arms following the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) ruling against Food Commission's calls for a complete ban on food additives. The call for a complete ban was made last week when the Food Commission identified Cadbury as having the most products that contain one or more of the seven food additives that contribute to increased hyperactivity in children. This includes products such as Cadbury Creme Egg, which is coloured with Sunset Yellow (E110), one of the additives that the Action on Additives says should be banned from children's food. The EFSA says that the UK study provides limited evidence that the additives "had a small and statistically significant effect on activity and attention in some children selected from the general population."
Read article in Marketing Week magazine (UK)
Comment: As is also the case with pesticides, many artificial additives are manufactured by some of the same pharmaceutical and chemical companies that would like to ban vitamin supplements and force GM foods onto our dinner plates.

Food Commission warns about additives in children's medicines

Warning on additives in children's medicines

Extracts from the Telegraph:

"Additives linked to hyperactivity in children are still used as ingredients in some medicines used by youngsters, a report out today warns.

The Food Commission found that 28 of 70 medicines suitable for under-12s contained one or more of the additives."

"The seven E numbers included in the report were part of a Food Standards Agency study carried out by Southampton University.

Its research found that 17 paracetamol products contained one or more of the additives.

Four medicated throat syrups, two ibuprofen products and five brands of two different antibiotics also contained at least one of the seven E numbers each."

Fruit content of fruity snacks 'non-existent'

Fruit content of fruity snacks 'non-existent'

Extracts from the Telegraph:

"The fruit content of many fruit-flavoured drinks and snacks is either minimal or non-existent, according to a report published on Monday."

"Of 28 products examined by the campaign group the Food Commission, only 11 contained real strawberries.

Five of these - Jordans Frusli All Fruit Strawberry bars, Jubbly Strawberry ice lollies, Asda Great Stuff Strawberry Milk and strawberry teabags produced by Sainsbury's and Tesco - contained less than one per cent real strawberries."

"Alpen strawberry & yoghurt bars: Contain more sugar and vegetable oil than strawberries, which make up 1.3 per cent of the ingredients - equivalent to 0.3g per bar.

Strawberry flavour Angel Delight: Lots of sugar, starch and additives but no strawberries.

Ribena strawberry juice drink: Found to have the highest real strawberry content of all the products tested - six per cent. Each carton also contains 31.4g of sugar - equivalent to almost eight teaspoons.

Hartley's strawberry jelly: The box says it has a "new fruitier taste", but the product still contains no strawberry at all.

Frijj strawberry milkshake: No artificial flavourings but no strawberries either.

Ambrosia strawberry flavour custard: The lid says "No artificial colours or flavours" and "No artificial sweeteners or preservatives". It does not mention "No strawberries", which would be equally true."

Food companies should warn about dangers of additives in food.

Food companies are criticised for failing to warn about additives - Independent

Extract:

"Concerns over the use of E-number additives in food heightened yesterday when it emerged that medicines containing additives were obliged to carry warnings of possible side effects such as skin allergies and breathing problems.

The Food Commission campaign group argued that if European Union guidelines on the warnings applied to medicines, they should also appear on food and drink products swallowed in greater quantities.

The additives have been linked with a variety of health problems in recent years and the Government has commissioned new research into a preliminary link between colourings and hyperactivity in children. Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury supermarkets are phasing out artificial colourings and flavourings from own-brand foods because of public concern.

But E-numbers are still widely used by manufacturers of sweets, crisps, cakes and soft drinks. In the latest stain on their safety, EU guidelines dating back to July 2003 say that medicines with specific additives should warn variously of "allergic reactions", "mild irritation to the skin, eyes and mucous membranes" and possible "severe hypersensitivity reactions".

Among medicines on sale, Calpol Paracetamol warns patients that its ingredient carmoisine (E122) "may cause allergic reactions", while the same warning accompanies E-numbers in Buttercup Infant cough syrup. The Food Commission found that 31 out of 41 medicines checked failed to warn of the "unwanted effect" of certain additives. Nonetheless, the EU states that medicine manufacturers using sodium benzoate - a preservative found in Vimto, Sprite, Pepsi Max and many other soft drinks - should warn of side effects.

Similarly, many sweets and crisps such as Starburst and Doritos do not carry warnings about their colourings but would have to do so if they were medicines. The EU guidelines state that six colourings - E102 tartrazine, E110 (sunset yellow), E122 (azorubine, carmoisine), E123 (amaranth), E124 (ponceau 4R red) and E151 (brilliant black BN) - "may cause allergic reactions". There are other problems with preservatives. E210 (benzoic acid), E211 (sodium benzoate) and E212 (potassium benzoate) are "mildly irritant to the skin, eyes and mucous membranes".

E220 (sulphur dioxide), E221 (sodium sulphite), E222 (sodium bisulphite); E223 (sodium metabisulphite), E224 (potassium metabisulphite) and E228 (potassium bisulphite) "may rarely cause severe hypersensitivity reactions and bronchospasm [difficulty in breathing]".

All the additives are approved by the EU but there are concerns that the tests missed some problems linked to their consumption. Ian Tokelove, of the Food Commission, a group of health professionals, said: "If medicines are supposed to display a warning for these additives then food and drink products should as well. We only take medicine occasionally, but we all need to consume food and drink on a long-term basis so our exposure to these additives will be greater.""

Many prescribed drugs/medications, particularly some steroids, HRT and other oestrogen-containings medications, several antidepressants and other antipsychotic drugs and several pain-killers, cause salt sensitivity leading to sodium and water retention and therefore to weight gain and obesity. Few, if any, of these drugs warn of this very common side-effect, and doctors rarely if ever mention it to the patients to whom they prescribe these drugs. Prescribed drugs may well be the main cause of morbid obesity in adults. - See http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/steroids.html
http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/story.html

Lose weight by eating less salt! Go on! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!
See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk
(The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.)

Many additives found in children's medicines - report by the Food Commission. - Sweeteners, dyes, preservatives - possible side-effects...

Cocktail of additives found in child medicines - form The Guardian

Extract:

"Children's medicines contain a cocktail of additives which are banned in food and drink aimed at under-threes, says a report out today from the Food Commission.

Dyes, preservatives, and sweeteners were found in cough syrups, paracetamol tablets and teething gels. One product contained eight E numbers.

The campaign group looked at 41 medicines for children under three. Only one, Superdrug children's dry cough syrup, was totally free of colourings and preservatives. Some of the additives can lead to asthma or act as mild laxatives, and most are banned from food and drink for under-threes, even though they are allowed in medicines aimed at young children."

"Some 31 out of 41 products contained preservatives, the most common being benzoates - E numbers E210 to E219; reactions can include skin rashes or wheezing. Only some of the medicines displayed warnings of additives' possible side effects.

Buttercup infant cough syrup had two E number dyes, while Calpol paracetamol, Anbesol teething gel, Sudafed children's syrup, and Superdrug children's chesty cough syrup, contained one azo dye apiece. Tixylix night cough syrup, sold for children over one year old, contained both benzoate and sulphite preservatives. Some medicines contained sweeteners sorbitol, maltitol and xylitol, which can have a laxative effect in high doses.""


Protect your child from obesity. - See http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/children.html
Lose weight by eating less salt! Go on! - Try it!
See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk
(The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.)