Artificial food additives: are their days e-numbered?

There has been grassroots anxiety about artificial food additives for more than 30 years, but it's only in the last few years that double-blind trials have taken place.  The most recent at the University of Southampton  tried two mixtures of artificial food colourings plus sodium benzoate on 3 - 8 year olds and indicated a link between hyperactivity and certain combinations of e-numbers.  The additives affected not just children vulnerable to ADHD symtoms, but also children in the 'normal' range.  
 
The flurry of newspaper reports that followed suggested that the suspect additives had finally been nailed, but the reaction of the FSA was initially cautious.  The referred the study to the European Food Standards Agency, who were not convinced by the study, arguing that it was not rigorous enough .¹  It seemed likely that the issue would rumble on for years.

But in a Board meeting on 10th April 2008 the FSA called for a voluntary ban on the six colourings from the Southampton study: sunset yellow (E110), quinoline yellow (E104), carmoisine (E122), allura red (E129) , tartrazine (E102) and ponceau 4R (E124).  The FSA's requests for voluntary action carry considerable weight and it's hoped that all of these colourings will have disappeared from UK-manufactured food by the end of 2009.

A formal, EU-wide ban may be further away, but the FSA is also pressing ministers to begin negotiations with the EU for a law against the additives. The European Food Standards Agency are themselves reviewing the safety of all food colourings permitted in the EU on a case-by-case basis with results expected at the end of the year.

These changes come at a time when consumer pressure has already led some supermarkets and manufacturers to move away from artificial additives.  But the picture is patchy and whether consumers get less artificial additives before the end of 2009 will probably depend on where and how they eat. 

Supermarkets

Some larger companies have changed their formulations because of consumer demand.  In May 2007, Marks and Spencers  removed artificial additives from 99% of their products.  The market research group Mintel points out a strong trend towards additive-free foods.  But the free from additives trend hasn't been taken up by all the large supermarkets - and it's still noticeable that the very cheapest processed foods are the ones likely to carry a long string of colourings.  

Restaurants and small manufacturers

There's no obligation for restaurants to list the ingredients of their food on the menu.   A spinach bhajhi may consist of freshly picked vegetables lovingly cooked with a few choice spices - or it may be mass produced in a factory with artificial additives to improve colour and increase shelf life. Birthday cakes too, often rely on colourings for their bright decoration.  
 
Small manufacturers are likely to find the move away from additives especially complex.   Swizzler, a small sweet firm, operating out of London and exporting internationally is a good example.  Their 'Love Heart' sweets contain all the e-numbers mentioned in the Food Standards Agency study except for tartrazine.

Not on the label

Many manufacturers are keen to avoid listing artificial additives on the label and a few loopholes still allow them to do so: they don't have to be listed if they are part of a compound ingredient consisting of less than 2% of a product.  In Not on the Label journalist Felicity Lawrence describes how it works:
 
'So, for example, if I want to make a drink for children without having to mention preservatives on the label, I can buy some "natural lemon flavouring" ... and make sure the natural flavouring has a hefty dose of preservative added to it.  The preservative, which will be surplus to the flavouring's requirements, will also have a preservative effect on the whole product.' ²
 
Many food additives are harmless, but in the face of such reluctance to give consumers the right to make their own judgments, it is not surprising that they react with distrust.  Preservatives are not  included on the FSA's voluntary ban list, so this situation isn't likely to improve in 2009.

Food subtractions

Perhaps though, the narrow concentration on the safety of artificial additives does not give the whole picture.  What these substances exclude may be as important as what they add.  As Professor Erik Millstone wrote in his 1986 book Food Additives 
 
'Industrial processing can be very severe on food; so severe in fact that it can damage or even destroy the colour, taste and texture.  Some ingredients may have so little colour or taste, or none at all, or even tastes and colours which are unattractive, that industry chooses to enhance the appeal of their products by introducing chemical additives.' 
 
Over-reliance on additives can mean that our sensitive tongues no longer make accurate judgments  - about the ripeness, freshness and nutritional content of our food.   Even if further studies show that the majority of the population are not directly harmed by artificial additives, there are still powerful reasons to prefer a diet that emphasises fresh foods and short ingredient lists.

This article was revised on 11 Apr 2008 to reflect recent policy developments.

1. BMJ 20 March 2008
 
2. pg. 205 Not on the Label.  Quoting personal communication, Food Standards Agency; Directive 2003/89/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, 10 Nov 2003.