Potentially Harmful Preservatives and Colors?
Much is written about preservatives and their potentially harmful effects with particular reference to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and children. Although the jury is still out and the debate rages on among academics, there is increasing evidence from respected studies that point to the fact that this may be the case.
“In terms of a question that’s been raging for years, it’s the best study to date — an extremely good study,” says Dr. Philip Shaw, a research psychiatrist in the Child Psychiatry branch of the National Institute of Mental Health. (Time.com, 6 September, 2007)
A recent study posted in the respected British medical journal The Lancet by England’s University of Southampton concluded that there was a correlation between particular combinations of food colors and preservatives in drinks. The results of this study prompted the British Food Standards Agency to issue an immediate advisory to all parents.
In April of 2008, the British Guardian newspaper reported that the British Food Standards Agency was pushing further to have several colors removed from production including the colorings sunset yellow (E110), quinoline yellow (E104), carmoisine (E122), allura red (E129), tatrazine (E102) and ponceau 4R (E124). These can all be found in processed food products here in the US and often found under different names such as:
sunset yellow (E110), cyan yellow, color (E110), yellow 6, color (110)
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has petitioned the FDA to consider mandating warning labels on products containing any of the eight suspect artificial dyes as prompted by the UK study. So far as we can tell, the FDA has not yet taken any action in relation to this study and the recent developments in the UK. This is somewhat understandable as mandating a warning label system or, as some suggest, a total ban could have significant and far reaching implications for the food industry . However, as a result, many US based doctors and cause related organisations are advising parents to be aware of what is in the food and drinks that they give to their children and to monitor their behavior as a precaution.
Whilst the debate rages on, we at foodessentials.com will aim to report its development as accurately and objectively as possible and in the meantime hope to act as a resource for people to become more aware of what is in the food that we eat.
Lists in this Series:
Potentially Harmful Preservatives and Colors?
Color Free Hot Cereal, Oatmeal and Grits
References:
FDA urged to ban artificial colors linked to hyperactivity (foodnavigator-usa.com, 4 June, 2008)
Hyper Kids? Cut Out Preservatives (Time, 6 September, 2007)
Chronic and acute effects of artificial colourings and preservatives on children’s behaviour (Food Standards Agency UK, 6 September 2007)
Food watchdog seeks ban on six artificial colourings. (Guardian.co.uk, 9 April, 2008)
Food Additives and ADD/ADHD (ADD ADHD Blog.com, 7 April, 2008)
CSPI Urges FDA to Ban Artificial Food Dyes Linked to Behavior Problems (Center for Science in the Public Interest, 2 June, 2008)
Possibly Related Posts:
- Choosing Canned Meat
- What are BHA and BHT?
- Are Flavored Waters the Same as Soft Drinks?
- Bisphenol A (BPA): Tainting Our Food?
- Artificial Colorings in Pudding and Gelatin Cups
If the correlation between particular combinations of food colors and preservatives in drinks are bad, I think the consumers need to know how much bad is it. They need to know about the specific effects of these combinations in the body so that they, (and producers alike) will be even more convinced that the products are indeed harmful and they will stop tolerating their production and usage.
Hi Erica,
Thanks for taking time out to comment.
I couldn’t agree with you more. Empowerment begins with knowledge. And unfortunately, not all the knowledge one needs to know is always on the back of the food label. Therefore, we do need to take some form of ownership and try and learn as much as possible so to inform oursleves of the potential hazards of particular ingredients. For example, mixing sodium benzoate (a preservative) with ascorbic acid (vitamin C), can actually create small amounts of benzene (a known carcinogen). These products are most often mixed together in soda pop. An example is Fanta Orange. But as a consumer, how would you know that unless otherwise told?
A tip – watch out for sodium benzoate when it is mixed with artificial colors and/or ascorbic acid. It is reported that the intergration of the two ingredients can cause certain behavioural problems in children. If you were interested in some further reading on this topic you can click here
Thanks again for commenting and feel free to contact us if you have any further questions!
Cheers,
Dagan Xavier