EU food labelling

Wow! If only we had the same labelling laws in Australia as they do in Europe.

Following studies and new regulations, food manufactures in the EU now have to put warning labels on food and drink (non-alcoholic) that contains any of the "Southampton Six" artificial colours.

These six colours are Tartrazine (102), Quinoline yellow (104), Sunset yellow (110), Azorubine / Carmoisine (122), Ponceau 4R (124) and Allura red (129).

From July 2010, the labels must be clearly legible and must carry the warning words "May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children".

The EU, or European Union, has 27 member countries. These include Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Sweden and others.

In Britain the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is also encouraging manufacturers to find alternative ingredients to these artificial colours. Many manufacturers and retailers have therefore been removing these colours from their products voluntarily.

In addition, the British FSA is publishing lists on its website of those food product ranges that do not contain the six critical artificial colours. This is clearly a public 'pat on the back' for companies which produce foods responsibly.

Sadly the equivalent body in Australia, known as Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), does not take the same view or approach as the British and European authorities and does not even appear to acknowledge the impacts that these food additives can have.

More's the pity for many children and families in Australia who feel the challenging impacts of these additives in their food and drinks. Avoiding such products is not always as easy as it sounds.

 

Hyperactivity in kids' medicines

When our children are sick we generally reach for a trusted brand in the medicine cabinet.

But which brands do we really trust?

A number of over-the-counter medicines are available for things like coughs, colds, temperatures, pain relief, hayfever, etc. Many also offer specially-formulated children's versions.

But did you know that many over-the-counter children's medicines contain artificial colours which can cause hyperactivity in some children? Many more also contain the preservative E211, sodium benzoate, which can also cause severe hyperactivity.

The last time I checked, bottles of Children's Panadol offered two options - with or without artificial colours (... as if we need it with!). However all Children's Panadol bottles seem to contain E211 preservative, or sodium benzoate.

This is an appalling inclusion from a so-called trusted medical brand and is not something we expect to deal with when our children get sick.

As an alternative, Nurofen produces a children's version which does not contain artificial colours or E211 preservative (though it does have flavours). This is therefore the only children's pain killer we now allow in our house.

As for cough medicines, stay away from Robitussin if you want to avoid E211. This is identified on the back of the bottle as 'sodium benzoate'.

After we had a pretty wild ride with Robitussin recently (because I forgot to check the small print on the back!) we now use Bisolvon instead. It does not contain artificial colours or E211 and is therefore a much more useable medicine with no real side effects.

As for hayfever treatments - forget it!

I have searched high and low for a children's hayfever treatment which does not contain E211, sodium benzoate. So far I have not found a single one and have now just given up. Instead I give my son half an adult tablet of Claratyne which I figure will do the same job - without the terrible side effects.

I call on all the manufacturers of children's medicines to please be responsible with all your ingredients. If some products do not need these additives then why do we need them at all?

When and why is chocolate blue?

Many of us love chocolate and chocolate milk drinks. But what colour is this drink supposed to be?

Surely it is brown, you say.Chocolate milk is brown. But maybe it is actually blue!

Well, strange as it may seem, some chocolate milk manufacturers choose to add a 'Brilliant Blue' food colouring, known as 133, in our popular chocolate milk drinks.

Ridiculous as this sounds, it is sadly and madly true!

The next time you pick up a container of chocolate milk, check out the ingredients on the back of the bottle or carton. You may be surprised at the common inclusion of the artificial food colour known as Brilliant Blue (133). Sometimes you will also get an additional artificial colour known as Chocolate Brown HT (155). Go figure!

I picked up a bottle of Oak chocolate milk today and saw that it boasted loudly on the front that it had 'no added sugar' in its contents.

That might be so. But hidden on the back was the much smaller admission that it did contain the artificial colours 133 and 155 - otherwise known as Brilliant Blue and an extra dose of Brown HT.

Oak is not alone in its food additives for chocolate milk. Moove and other big brands are also shameless culprits. 

As always, though, my question is why? Why do these big companies think we need to have chocolate products with artificial blue additives? Does it improve the taste, texture or look of the milk? Probably not.

This is particularly pertinent when other brands rely on the natural cocoa content and therefore do not use any artificial colours in their chocolate drinks. These brands include Milo, CalciYum and the Coles-own product. Thank you to these guys for sensible alternatives.

So if some manufacturers can do it without any fuss, why can't the big names like Moove and Oak also do the right thing? We really don't need blue chocolate, or any extra brown stuff either.

Chocolate is just chocolate. Leave it alone. Don't mess with it. Keep it natural and leave the artificial colours out of it.

Blue chocolate indeed!

Cool drinks and ice blocks

Well, its been hot in Australia recently, really hot. And many of us are reaching for the ice-blocks and cold drinks in a bid to cool down on the inside as well as the outside.

But if you have a negative reaction to artificial food colourings or 211 preservative then this takes a little more thought than just reaching into the fridge or freezer for the first cold item that comes to hand.

You know those bottles of mineral water with flavours in them - the ones produced by manufacturers such as Deep Spring. They make a good range of lightly flavoured drinks with 'orange and passionfruit' and other interesting tastes. They are certainly nice and refreshing in hot weather. The bottles even say they have 'natural colours and flavours'.

Well, that may be so, but they also contain preservative 211, and therein lies the problem.

My son used to drink these a few summers ago because we thought that a 'lightly sparkling mineral water' with 'natural colours' would be just fine for him. Not like those other heavily coloured fizzy drinks you can buy in the supermarket chains and vending machines which just scream at you "danger - keep out!"

But then, after an ongoing period of drinking this so-called 'mineral water' my son became extremely hyper with a total lack of concentration, silly behaviour and generally dysfunction.

We later worked out that the culprit was preservative 211 inside the mineral water. The bottle might have seemed friendly enough but clearly it was far from it.

Similarly with ice blocks - unless we buy the SPC brand (currently with Toy Story images on them) or Icy-Pole blocks we are really heading for a nightmare time. Most of the standard ice-blocks on sale are jam-packed with all sorts of artificial colours and are absolutely terrible for many children susceptible to behavioural impacts. Been there, done that - never again, thank you very much.

So if you are trying to cool down this summer, try something a little safer. The new LOL brands are safe and tasty (amazing but true). Otherwise stick to good old fashioned water or double check all the ingredients on the back of every item before you buy it.

Artificial colours to avoid

Well, another year has descended upon us and we continue our vigilance against artificial colours in our food and drink.

So what are the artificial colours to avoid? I will list these in two  groups.

The first is often known as the "Southampton Six" as they were the subject of some significant studies conducted in Southampton in the UK several years ago. The studies were funded by the Food Standards Agency and indicated these colours can have a major impact on some children's behaviour, including increased hyperactivity. The studies also found the same outcomes with preservative E211, sodium benzoate. These six colours, and E211, are therefore the most serious colours we deal with. They are generally reds and yellows and are as follows:

• E102 - Tartrazine
• E104 - Quinoline yellow
• E110 - Sunset yellow
• E122 - Azorubine / Carmoisine
• E124 - Ponceau 4R
• E129 - Allura red

The second group comprises of several more artificial colours which, in my experience, also have a major impact on children's behaviour. These are as follows:

• E123 - Amaranth (deep brown red)
• E127 - Erythrosine (cherry pink)
• E132 - Indigotine (blue denim)
• E133 - Brilliant blue
• E142 - Green S
• E143 - Fast green
• E151 - Brilliant black
• E155 - Brown HT

Good luck with avoiding these artificial colours in our food and drink. They are widely used and it is often quite a challenge to stay on top of them all.

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Food colourings at Christmas

Christmas is often a tricky time for children susceptible to the effects of artificial food colourings. There are so many more sweet temptations on offer, and sadly some children need to steer well clear.

My own son does Nippers at our local beach and last Sunday was the last session before Christmas. At the end of the session all the young Nippers received a special visit from Santa - which was great for many of them, but not for my son.

Santa came along with a big red sack and all the children looked at him eagerly. Then he pulled out some goodies from inside the bag - a small pack of Allen's lollies for every child in the group. The children all lined up and happily waited their turn, then received their prize and went their own ways to devour their lollies. My son, however, received his bag of lollies then came over to me with a very disappointed look on his face. He knew he wouldn't be able to eat the lollies as they contained all sorts of artificial colours in them - and its just not worth it for everyone involved.

Instead we came home and he had some Natural Confectionery lollies which are free of artificial colours. He was happy with this, as he knows there is usually an alternative which is available. But its a shame he couldn't just join in at the beach.

My question to the big manufactures is this - why is it that some companies can process food without the extra colourings, while others insist on putting them in. Clearly, if some companies can do without the added colours they are hardly a necessary ingredient. A green lolly can still look green without an extra colour enhancer. But what these companies don't understand is the impact this has on our children.

In parts of Europe and elsewhere many of these artificial colours are banned. Why can't we do the same in Australia?

We will name 'names'

On this blog we won't be afraid to name company names.

• If they are good with their food colouring issues then we will say so.
• If they are bad, then we will say that too.

But all our comments will be fully justified and will come from real experience.