Cracking the Food Label Code
How easy is to make sense of food labels if you’re trying to keep your child away from harmful additives? Most parents agree that it isn’t easy enough and feel that anyone short of a qualified chemist isn’t equipped with enough knowledge to be able to decipher the codes that appear on the back of all of our packaged foods.
Ever heard of the Southampton Six? No, they’re not a group of ultra rich millionaires sunning themselves in the Hamptons, but rather a group of 6 artificial colours which have been strongly linked to hyperactivity and behavioural problems in children.
Used in a range of products, it is possible to find these additives in savoury snack food, ice creams, lollies and baked goods. A recent study showed that these additives were present in over 1,000 products sitting on Australian supermarket shelves.
The restrictions on the additives’ use, and their phasing out in some countries, are based on solid science. This research showed very convincingly that the consumption of these additives caused hyperactivity in young children. So, limiting the Southampton Six is a reasonable and responsible choice, but how can we do it?
The six colours that are referred to under the name Southampton Six are;
- Sunset Yellow (E110)
- Quinoline Yellow (E104)
- Carmoisine (E122)
- Allura Red (E129)
- Ponceau 4R (E124)
- Tartazine (E102)
The best way to find out if the food you buy contains these colours is to check the labels on the packet. Although it is mandatory in European countries to put clear labelling such as "Warning: Alura Red AC E129 (or one of the other five colours) may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.” This is unfortunately not the case in Australia, so your best bet it to scour the ingredient list on the packet for any of the six codes which appear above. Not only will your child have an easier time focussing on tasks without all that extra energy, but you will be well on your way to earning that science degree!
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