In April 2008, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued advice to parents and carers based on the results of research into artificial colours and children’s behavioural disorder carried out by Southampton University. The research had established a possible link between six specific artificial colours and hyperactivity in children. The FSA advised:
If a child shows signs of hyperactivity or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), eliminating the colours considered in the Southampton study from their diet might have some beneficial effect on their behaviour.
The FSA states the link and the advice in less than certain terms: “a possible link”, “might have some beneficial effect”. However, the Lancet’s abstract of the research findings is much more definite:
Interpretation
Artificial colours or a sodium benzoate preservative (or both) in the diet result in increased hyperactivity in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the general population.
Colour additives associated with child hyperactivity
The six artificial colours identified were:
- sunset yellow FCF (E110)
- quinoline yellow (E104)
- carmoisine (E122)
- allura red (E129)
- tartrazine (E102)
- ponceau 4R (E124)
Despite the evidence linking these colours and Sodium Benzoate (E211) – “the Southampton seven additives” – with hyperactivity, the European Food Standards Agency has failed to act decisively to ban them from foods. The UK Food Standards Agency chooses only to list products declared free from the colours.
Products free from colour additives associated with child hyperactivity
The FSA maintains its partial list of products that don’t contain these colours, issuing an updated list today. Unfortunately the list is based on information provided voluntarily by food manufacturers. Only the following companies have confirmed that their specified products don’t contain the colours:
- Asian Asset Group – Worldfoods products
- Blue Keld Springs Ltd – Blue Keld Springs products
- Cookfood – Cookfood products
- Cool Drinks company – Cool Drinks company range of drinks
- Green Bay – Green Bay products
- Heinz – Heinz products, Weight Watchers from Heinz products, HP products, Lea & Perrins products
- Lakeland – Lakeland products
- Montgomeryshire Spring Water company – Montgomeryshire Spring Water products
- Plas Farm Ltd - Plas Farm products
- Rubicon Drinks – Rubicon products, Sun Exotic products
- Sunny Delight Beverage Company – Sunny Delight Beverage Company products
- Vimto Soft Drinks – Vimto products, Panda drinks, Sunkist drinks
- Zipvit – Project ZV products
Which products contain the colour additives associated with child hyperactivity?
Of far greater interest to parents would be a list of products that do contain the offending colours. While the FSA doesn’t compile such a list, Action on Additives (a Food Commission campaign) does, providing a useful searchable database of 520 products containing the colours listed above and Sodium Benzoate (E211), also associated with hyperactivity. Action on Additives also provides additional information on the colour additives and Sodium Benzoate.
Searching the database quickly reveals numerous popular products that contained one or more of these additives on the specified date of purchase. The following are, sadly, just a small selection:
- Cadbury – Mini Eggs (contained E122, E129 – January 2009)
Mars – M&Ms (contained E104, E129 – September 2008)M&Ms purchased in April 2009 no longer contain any of the listed colours- Irn Bru (contained E110, E124 – September 2008)
- Jelly Belly – The Original Gourmet Jelly Bean (contained E102, E110, E129 – October 2008)
- Tesco Sugar Free Cherryade (contained E122 – December 2008)
- Maynards Wine Gums (contained E104, E122, E129 – September 2008)
Broken promises or steady improvement?
A recent press release from Action on Additives claims that Mars and Cadbury have broken promises made last year in not removing these colours from all their products. Cadbury has responded to the Food Commission’s accusations, asserting that it has fulfilled its promise to remove all the offending colours from its range of “sweets” (a category that doesn’t include chocolates) and is working on its chocolate products:
The Food Commission has got it wrong. We achieved our goal of removing all artificial colours from our sweets range by the end of last year as we promised. There are a very small number of chocolate products, such as Cadbury Creme Egg, which also contain colours, that presented more difficult technical challenges.
However, we have resolved these and, as of this month, no Creme or Mini Creme Eggs leaving our factories contain artificial colours. We have completed testing on the remaining chocolate brands to ensure consumers enjoy the same quality, and these will also be switched over in the coming months.
Meanwhile, Mars has stated that it has been working to remove the colours since 2006:
By the end of 2008, all of the Southampton seven additives were removed from all of our chocolate products except for Minstrels and Revels which we are working to achieve by the end of 2009 – this information has been publicly available on our consumer care website for several months.
In addition, we had planned to achieve the removal of Southampton Colours from Starburst Choozers by the end of 2008, but have encountered some small technical difficulties which means that this has been delayed by a few weeks. On 6 March, we started to manufacture Starburst Choozers free from these colours and anticipate these will start to appear on shelves in May.
The Tracing Paper has found that M&Ms no longer contain any of the Southampton additives. A packet purchased in April 2009 lists the following colours: E120, E133, E160a, E160e, E171. (Vegetarians should note that E120 is cochineal, a red colouring derived from crushed insect carcases.)
More products with bad colours
Unfortunately, even Action on Additives’ extensive list isn’t complete. The supermarket comparison site, mySupermarket.co.uk, provides helpful lists of ingredients for many products supplied by Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury’s and Ocado (ie Waitrose). Searching the site for the additive numbers results in terrifyingly long lists of products containing these colours. For example, searching for E110 gives about 145 results.
We deserve more transparent information
It’s not easy to remember the list of additives to avoid, let alone to check every product we buy. Action on Additives will provide a handy card to carry as a reference of the additives, but better still would be for the European and UK Food Standards Agencies to take real action. If not a complete ban on these additives (and why not?) then at least a compulsory warning on the label – “This product contains additive(s) linked with hyperactivity in children”.
