Dangerous additives for our kids

The goverment's Foods Standards Agency is warning parents of the dangers of giving young children foods and drinks containing artificial additives because of new reasearch that confirms links between additives, hyperactivity and disruptive behaviour.

The study, carried out by Southampton University recorded the responses of 153 three year olds and 144 eight to nine year olds when mixes of additives, including artificial colourings, preservative sodium benzoate, which is commonly found in soft drinks, were placed in the drinks they were drinking.

The results showed that the deterioration in behaviour after consuming the additives occured in children in the general population, not just those identified as suffering from hyperactivity.

Hyperactivity is a behaviour officially indicated by increased movement, impulsiveness and inattention, and can impair learning. In its more severe form ADHD is beleived to affect between 2.4% and 5% of the population.

Popular drinks and sweets that still contained one or more of the named additives include Diet Coke, Irn-Bru, Orangina, Refreshers and Skittles.

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 doing more to persuade children to eat less E-number-riddled junk food by restricting its marketing and labelling it clearly."

The food and drink additive agency is worth more than $25bn ($12.4bn) a year globally. But the impact of this research will be much wider, affecting the whole of the food and drink industry.

For more information about food and what to feed your children see our Food and Feeding area.

How do I avoid these additives for my child?
Fast foods and highly processed foods are more likely to contain additives so try to stick to certified organic foods where the additives are banned.
Try to stay away from foods containing Sodium Benzoate, which is used widely in soft drinks, sweets, ice creams and cakes.
Most additives appear on the labels of foods, so get into the habit of checking lables. Here is a list of additives to be wary of:

Tartrazine E102
Carmoisine E122
Sodium Benzoate E211
Sunset Yellow E110
Ponceau 4R E124
Quinoline Yellow E 104

Thanks to the Guardian 06/09/07