Health and lifestyle
Food additives: a guide for parents
Everything you need to know about what is in your child’s food. By Tim Whitelaw
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Natural fod aditives have been used for many hundreds of years to sweeten, preserve or enhance the taste and texture of food – some familiar examples might include the addition of salt to bacon or the pickling of vegetables in vinegar.
However, with the rise of processed and mass-produced foods in the last 50 years, there has been a dramatic growth in the usage and variety of both natural and synthetic food additives. The result is the dizzying number of ingredients often seen in today’s food. The sheer number of different types of additive can make things very difficult for those trying to determine the contents of the food products they have purchased.
Alongside this proliferation of additives has come increasing concerns about their safety – some food additives have been linked to behavioural changes in children, while others have been linked to cancers and serious illness. To help parents make sense of the situation, what follows is a brief guide to the various types of food additives and information about the controversy and concerns surrounding some of them.
Understanding food additives
In the European Union, food additives are usually identified in one of two ways:
- their chemical name (for example benzoic acid);
- their E-number (for example E21 0).
There are six main types of food additives, categorised by their purpose:
- colours (E-numbers 100–199);
- preservatives (E-numbers 200–299);
- sweeteners (E-numbers 950–967);
- flavour enhancers (E-numbers 600–699);
- emulsifiers, stablisers, gelling and caking agents and thickeners (various non-sequential E-numbers);
- antioxidants (various non-sequential E-numbers).
For a complete list of all e-numbers and
their chemical names, visit:
www.ukfoodguide.net/enumeric.htm
Colours
Colours are used to make food appear more attractive and appetising. While some food colours are natural and harmless, recent reports have linked a number of artificial food colourings to the exacerbation of behavioural problems in children with certain conditions.
In light of new research, the Food Standards Agency now recommends that children who are suffering with Attention Deficit Disorder or hyperactivity avoid all foods containing the following colourings:
- sunset yellow (E11 0)
- quinoline yellow (E104)
- carmoisine (E122 )
- allura red (E12 9)
- tartrazine (E102)
- ponceau 4R (E124 )
While some want these additives banned, the FSA is currently awaiting a decision by the European Food Safety Authority to decide whether or not to ban them.
Preservatives
Preservatives are used to stop ingredients in food reacting with either their environment or each other, to prevent the food going bad. Many newer preservatives in use nowadays are synthetic. Among those preservatives which have aroused concern is benzoic acid (E210) and sodium benzoate (E21). These are found in many foods including fish sauce, ketchups, juices, salad, and many other types of goods and are thought to be an irritant to skin and mucous membranes for some people.
There are also concerns that benzoic acid and sodium benzoate may react with ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in soft drinks and form small quantities of benzene – a known carcinogen (cancer-causing agent), though the quantities are thought to be too small to be a serious threat to health.
Sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners are used in many diet and weight-loss products, since they increase the sweetness of foods and liquids without the corresponding increase in “food energy” (or calories) that ordinary sugar would produce. There are a number of artificial sweeteners available – the most widely used being saccharin (E954), sucralose (E955) and aspartame (E951). These sweeteners are found in diet soft drinks, diet desserts, drink cordials, some medicines, and are the base for sugar-substitutes such as Nutrasweet.
While it has been approved as safe by US and European food authorities, aspartame has been the subject of some controversy because of suggestions that it is linked to a higher incidence of brain tumours, cancers and lymphomas. The evidence is far from conclusive – while a large number of studies appear to show that there is no proven link between cancer incidence and aspartame consumption, a study by the respected Ramazzini Foundation seemed to indicate that aspartame triggered an increased risk of cancer in rats, which caused some organisations to revise their verdicts on its suitability for humans.
Nonetheless, artificial sweeteners are currently considered safe by the Food Standard Agency, and the best advice is probably to ensure that children’s intake of the ingredient is not excessive.
Flavour enhancers
Flavour enhancers are used to bring out the flavours already inherent in food. The most well-known flavour enhancer is of course salt, but there are many others now available including monosodium glutamate (E621 ), also known as MSG.
Although generally recognised as safe, a 1995 study commissioned by the US food safety agency, the FDA, found that an unknown percentage of the population may react negatively to MSG and develop MSG Symptom Complex. This is a condition characterised by various symptoms including chest pain, nausea, rapid heartbeat and burning sensations.
A body of other anecdotal research suggests other negative health effects from high-levels of MSG such as increased incidence of eye problems such as glaucoma. However, at the time of writing none of these studies has been properly substantiated. Today, MSG is used in a variety of foods including canned soups, ready-meals, instant noodles and others. Nonetheless, concerns over MSG has led some supermarkets, such as the Co-op, to ban the ingredient from their own product lines.
Emulsifiers, stablisers, gelling and caking agents and thickeners
These additives are used to influence or change the “state” of food – to thicken, thin, maintain or cake a mixture or liquid. At present, there are no particular dangers or concerns associated with these additives.
Antioxidants
Unlike many types of food additives, antioxidants are thought to have positive health benefits. Antioxidants are used to prevent food reacting with oxygen in the atmosphere and perishing. Common antioxidant additives include ascorbic acid (E300 – also known as Vitamin C), erythorbic acid, and sodium erythorbate. Although antioxidants are thought to have health benefits (particularly in preventing diseases such as cancer), the evidence is somewhat inconclusive. While the risk of some types of cancer have been shown to be slightly reduced by antioxidant intake, other studies have seemed to show that they have no effect.
While studies have linked consumption of fruit and vegetables (a natural source of antioxidants) to greater health and lower incidence of cancer, the same link cannot be established when antioxidants alone are used – implying perhaps that it’s not just the antioxidants in the fruit and vegetables that are providing the health benefits.
For on-line information about food safety in
general and the latest government advice,
visit:
www.foodstandards.gov.uk
If you have any queries concerning food additives, send them to the Food Standards Agency at: foodadditives@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
