04-12-2008, 09:04 AM
Food dyes cause hyperactivity
SIX artificial food colourings commonly found in lollies, processed and takeaway foods should be banned across Europe because of a link to hyperactivity in children, a food safety watchdog says.
The British government's independent Food Standards Agency wants UK ministers to push for voluntary removal of the colourings by next year, the BBC reported today.
A total Europe-wide ban would need to be approved by the European Union.
The agency made the recommendation after a UK study last year reported that children behaved impulsively and lost concentration after consuming a drink containing additives.
About 300 children were randomly given one of three drinks - either a potent mix of colourings and additives, a drink that roughly matched the average daily additive intake of a child of their age, or a "placebo" drink with no additives, the BBC reported.
Their hyperactivity levels were measured before and afterwards, and researchers found that the drink with the highest level of additives had a "significantly adverse" effect compared with the placebo drink, it said.
The six colourings concerned are found in many products such as sweets, confectionery, processed food and takeaways.
The agency has advised parents of hyperactive children to be aware of the potential risks of the colourings.
"The evidence we have suggests it would be sensible for these to be taken out of food," FSA chair Dame Deirdre Hutton said, according to the BBC.
"We would like to see the use of colours phased out over a period. That does require mandatory action by the EU."
The European Food Safety Agency said in March that effects of the food colourings on children's behaviour were small but, as the there were no nutritional benefits from the additives, there would be no cost or risk to the child in removing them from the diet, the report said.
The colourings are Sunset yellow (E110), the red colourings Carmoisine (E122) and Ponceau 4R (E124), the new colouring Tartrazine (E102) found in lollies and soft drinks, Quinoline yellow (E104), and Allura red AC (E129), an Orange/red food dye.
SIX artificial food colourings commonly found in lollies, processed and takeaway foods should be banned across Europe because of a link to hyperactivity in children, a food safety watchdog says.
The British government's independent Food Standards Agency wants UK ministers to push for voluntary removal of the colourings by next year, the BBC reported today.
A total Europe-wide ban would need to be approved by the European Union.
The agency made the recommendation after a UK study last year reported that children behaved impulsively and lost concentration after consuming a drink containing additives.
About 300 children were randomly given one of three drinks - either a potent mix of colourings and additives, a drink that roughly matched the average daily additive intake of a child of their age, or a "placebo" drink with no additives, the BBC reported.
Their hyperactivity levels were measured before and afterwards, and researchers found that the drink with the highest level of additives had a "significantly adverse" effect compared with the placebo drink, it said.
The six colourings concerned are found in many products such as sweets, confectionery, processed food and takeaways.
The agency has advised parents of hyperactive children to be aware of the potential risks of the colourings.
"The evidence we have suggests it would be sensible for these to be taken out of food," FSA chair Dame Deirdre Hutton said, according to the BBC.
"We would like to see the use of colours phased out over a period. That does require mandatory action by the EU."
The European Food Safety Agency said in March that effects of the food colourings on children's behaviour were small but, as the there were no nutritional benefits from the additives, there would be no cost or risk to the child in removing them from the diet, the report said.
The colourings are Sunset yellow (E110), the red colourings Carmoisine (E122) and Ponceau 4R (E124), the new colouring Tartrazine (E102) found in lollies and soft drinks, Quinoline yellow (E104), and Allura red AC (E129), an Orange/red food dye.