Could food additives make your kids hyper?
There are loads of news stories around at the moment talking about food additives. But what are they and why are they important?
Here's our simple guide to food additives...
What are they?
Additives are substances added to food to improve how it looks, or preserve its flavour - in other words, artificial colours and preservatives.
Give me an example
Some additives have been around for a long time. Salt is used to preserve bacon, vinegar for pickling and sulphur dioxide in some wine.
So why are they in the news?
A new report by scientists at Southampton University claims that the number of children suffering from ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) could be cut by a third, if a group of suspect additives are banned. The scientists are putting pressure on the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to put the ban into practice.
When will the ban happen?
No-one knows. So far, the FSA has only called for a voluntary ban on these additives by the end of 2009, so it's up to the individual companies to get rid of them.
ADHD is rare, though, isn't it?
It used to be, but it's on the increase and recent figures say 5-10% of children are likely to suffer from the condition.
What are these additives?
These are the additives that are the main problem:
- Tartrazine (E102) - New colouring in lollies, fizzy drinks
- Quinoline yellow (E104) - Food colouring
- Sunset yellow (E110) - Colouring found in squashes
- Carmoisine (E122) - Red colouring in jellies
- Ponceau 4R (E124) - Red colouring
- Allura red AC (E129) - Orange / red food dye
So what can I do?
Well, some supermarkets have already done something. Sainsbury's, M&S and the Co-Op have already banned artifical colours and preservatives in their own-label products and Cadbury's and Mars have promised to get rid of them.
What happens until then?
The Food Commission has set up a website called www.actiononadditives.com which lists more than 900 products containing the chemicals.
More help and advice
- Get all the facts on ADHD
- Why giving drugs to kids with ADHD doesn't work
- And expert's view on treating ADHD
By Rob Mansfield
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caroline, 9 months
this is a very good website expecially for research in science at secondary school
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