An independent food watchdog says soft drink and food with artificial additives should carry health warnings. The Food Commission, which campaigns for healthier, safer and sustainable food in the UK, says mainly vivid colours and preservatives have already been linked to behavioural problems in children but do not have to carry any warnings when used in foods and drinks.
Despite government and industry statements that the additives are safe, EU and British law requires medicines that contain these additives to carry health warnings. Labels say they may cause "allergic reactions", "mild irritation to the skin, eyes and mucous membranes" and possible "severe hypersensitivity reactions." However, our daily food and drink expose us to much greater quantities of additives compared with medicines.
[via Sky News]
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Ian Tokelove, a spokesperson for the Commission’s The Food Magazine, commented, "The Government and the food industry continue to assure us that all food additives are safe for us to eat, but here we have clear medical guidelines which state that over a dozen common additives should carry a health warning.”
When used in medicines, warnings are given for artificial colourings such as E102 (tartrazine), E110 (sunset yellow), which are used in a wide range of products, including cakes, sweets, fruit squashes and soft drinks. An earlier report by the Food Commission revealed that food additives, which are banned from food for the under-threes, are routinely added to medicines for children of the same age. These additives are banned from food and drinks because they cannot be proved to be safe for consumption by the very young.
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