Food additives - those E-numbers - should carry health warnings.
Food additives can affect children’s behaviour. That’s the message from a scientific study carried out in the UK by scientists from Southampton University. Of course, some campaigners have been saying this for years, but this latest report certainly adds weight to the theory.
The scientists found that the food additives – generally used as food dyes or preservatives – could adversely affect the behaviour of children: they became more impulsive, found it harder to concentrate and even had greater problems reading. The additives are generally listed in the small print on the back of food packaging – you’ll see them as E-numbers. And if the additives can affect the behaviour of children, then why not that of adults as well? It's not just bad behaviour, they've been linked to health problems too.
So what should you look out for? Well, here’s a run through of the additives tested – some are banned in some countries:
E102 – Tartrazine. It’s a yellow dye – though can be mixed with blue dye to produce green colouration. You might find it in cake mixes, soups, ice creams, yoghurts, squashes and jellies.
E122 – Camoisine. A red dye it occurs in jams, browns sauces, marzipan and sweets.
E104 – Quinoline Yellow. This yellow dye is found in Scotch eggs, cough sweets and some soft drinks.
E110 – Sunset Yellow. A yellow dye you might find in squash, jelly, sweets, packet soups, jam and cheese sauce.
E124 – Ponceau 4R. Dark red dye that you can find in sweets, jellies, cough medicine, salami, cheesecakes and soft drinks.
E129 – Allura Red. Orangey-red dye found in sweets, soft drinks, some biscuits and condiments.
E211 – Sodium benzoate. This preservative might be found in soft drinks, salad dressings and other sauces, soy sauce and fruit pies.
