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Are they safe?

Many people are concerned about the safety of additives, particularly where children are concerned. But with so many different additives used in foods it is difficult to generalise. All additives have to be approved as safe before they can be used in foods and there are often limits on the amounts that can be used in individual foods.

A small number of additives may trigger specific problems such as asthma, rashes, hyperactivity or other intolerant or allergic reactions in people who are sensitive to them. Other additives have been linked to cancers, reproductive problems and other damage in laboratory test animals at large doses. Yet the effects on humans of the smaller amounts eaten in the diet over long periods of time are not necessarily known.

Margins of safety are built into permitted levels of use, but there are uncertainties about applying results obtained in laboratory animals to human beings. In addition, the possible interactive or 'cocktail' effect of a mixture of additives in the body is not assessed.

For most of the population, direct health risks from food additives are likely to be low when compared with other health risks from food, such as the risk of heart disease from an unhealthy diet or the risk of allergy from common foods such as peanuts, wheat, dairy foods and shellfish. However consumer organisations say absolute safety can rarely be guaranteed, and urge regulatory bodies to be cautious when there is any doubt over the safety of a particular additive.

For most people, additives probably pose the greatest risk to our health in the way that they are used to help disguise cheap ingredients as good food, and persuade us to eat foods that are high in fats, processed starches, salt and sugar.

Additives known to cause problems in some people

Reactions to additives are rare but when they do occur they are usually caused by one of the following:

Colourings:

E102 (tartrazine)
E104 (quinoline yellow)
E110 (sunset yellow)
E120 (cochineal)
E122 (carmoisine)
E124 (ponceau)
E129 (allura red)
E160b (annatto)

Preservatives and antioxidants: 

E210–219 (benzoates)
E220–228 (sulphites)
E310–312 (gallates)
E320,321 (BHA, BHT)

Babies and young children

Foods for babies and young children are not allowed to contain a number of additives, including many additives over which there are outstanding safety concerns. However these restrictions apply only to foods specifically made for babies and young children i.e. baby and toddler foods, drinks and formula milks. A loophole in the law allows these banned additives to be used in a wide range of foods eaten regularly by young children – such as fizzy drinks, savoury snacks, crisps, desserts, sausages, fish fingers, sweets, ice cream and lollies. Although these foods are often made to appeal to young children, the fact that they are eaten by older children and some adults means they are not subject to the same restrictions. 

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