Another report exposing the dangers of food additives

In early September, the UK government’s Food Standards Agency took the significant step of issuing revised guidance to consumers recommending that they steer clear of products containing certain E-numbers if their children are showing signs of hyperactivity or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The release of the new public health advice follows the results of the biggest UK study into the links between hyper-activity and chemical food additives, which was commissioned by the government and published on 6 September in Lancet.

Unfortunately, the government has missed an opportunity to take a tougher line by banning the additives completely or at least significantly promoting awareness. Parents are often happy to resort to what is conveniently available and keeps children quiet, at that moment, so we buy what’s in the vending machine or convenience store. And while the government is advising people to check for additives by scrutinising labels, many sweets and cakes are sold loose without labels, as is ice cream. There is also a missed opportunity to advise schools directly about these findings, despite the ongoing initiatives to improve school food. However, the FSA has taken the passive step of passing them to the European Food Safety Authority for it to make a decision about a ban as part of re-evaluation of the safety of all food colours.

Richard Watts, coordinator of the Children’s Food Campaign, said: “The junk food diet turns out to be bad for children’s mental health, as well as their physical health. We need to go further to make parents aware of the potential health problems created by additives, as well as do more to persuade children to eat less E-number-riddled junk food by restricting its marketing and labelling it clearly.” That would be a good start.

Its no wonder that its difficult to get authorities on board when faced by lobby groups for an industry (food and drink additives) worth more than $25 billion a year globally. The food and drink industry itself is much larger and because it is dominated by big players like Nestle and Unilever which rely on marketing and low cost production (ie add chemicals, fat and sugar to make it “taste” good instead of producing quality food) is also a weighty lobby fighting against improvement of our diets.

The best advice – don’t get your children (or yourself) hooked on sweets and junk food because its tough to kick the habit.