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Dear Michelle,
Well here is another long overdue newsletter but I am happy to report there has been a lot going on in the world of food additives. In this edition we have some great news from the UK following on from the 2007 Southhampton study, and some good news about bread from our own supermarket shelves here in Australia.
There is a definite sense of momentum surrounding food additives at the moment , confirming that our lobbying and persistence over the past few years is starting to pay off.
There is some new research about Aspartame and information about sulfur dioxide on fresh produce to share also, as well as our usual lobbying targets and recipes.
I hope you enjoy the information in this newsletter and urge you once again join in the campaigns below. These tasks only take a few minutes of your time but collectively, our time is well spent,as we are now well established as an effective consumer lobbying force.
As always, thanks again for your ongoing interest and support.
Regards Julie
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| UK Calls For Additive Ban - FSANZ Do Nothing |
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Following on from the publication of the Southhampton study in September 2007, the UK FSA has completed a detailed review of the study findings, and has called for 6 of the colour additives in the study to be phased out of use by the end of 2009.
The Southhampton study looked at the effect of a combination of food colours and the preservative sodium benzoate, and found that these additives in combination had a definite adverse effect in relation to hyperactivity and behaviour in children generally, not just in those with a history of ADHD.
The Chairpeson of the UK Food Standards Agency, Dame Deirdre Hutton, said that it was the duty of the FSA to put the consumers first , and called for the additives to be phased out of all foods, not just those targetted at children.
The UK FSA will recommend that the European Food Standards Agency follow up this action with a legislative ban, but this is a process which could take some years to finalise. The colours to be banned are tartrazine (102), quinoline yellow( 104) sunset yellow (110), carmoisine (122), ponceau red (124) and allura red (129).
In Australia, FSANZ have no plans to follow the precautionary lead of the UK FSA. FSANZ have dismissed the study findings as "interesting" and claim that the evidence provided in the study was "not strong."
It is hard to understand how there can be such disparity bewteen the 2 agencies, and this placating response from FSANZ demonstrates just how out of touch our regulator is with consumer sentiment.
We will be launching a campaign calling for these additives to be removed from our foods also in the near future,so please stay tuned for that one as we will need full lobbying power when the campaign is launched.
Click here to view story about the UK decision.
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| Choice Magazine Article |
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The most recent edition of Choice Magazine ( May 2008) contains a feature article about food additives which finally acknowledges that the use of food additives is an issue of major concern for Australian consumers. Thanks to everyone who emailed in to help get this message across to the Australian Consumers Association - they heard us!!!
The article is supportive in that it calls for improved labelling to ensure all additives are listed , no mater how small the quantity ( something we have been campaigning for since 2004), and it also calls for a review by FSANZ into the use of the colours cited in the Southhampton study.
I have spoken at length to the ACA suggesting that food additives is an issue which the ACA should take on board, rather than leaving it to us consumers to lead the campaign for safer food, but at this stage this is not a priority area for them. They are supportive of our lobbying action and aims but they have advised they will not be taking up the issue of food additives in the near future.
So, if we want to get harmful additives removed from our food supply, it looks like it is still up to us consumers to lead the way via our lobbying campaigns and our individual actions in the supermarket.
Click here to see the Choice Article.
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| Political Interest |
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Shadow Minister of Education in South Australia, David Pisoni MP, this week launched his own campaigin against the use of harmful food additives in school canteens. On Wed 21 May he launched a media release calling for review of additives in school foods, which received good coverage on the television, radio and print media. David has advised he plans to take this issue further within his party to enlist support, and he has suggested that he woudl like to see an parliamentary inquiry into the issue of food additives.
Locally in Perth we have also had some encourgaing offers of support from Martin Whiteley MLA and Margaret Quirk MLA ,so our efforts to raise awareness are finally starting to pay off with prominent people realising that food additives and their effect on children in particular is a very real and serious issue for many Australian families.
Click here to view article and video clip of David Pisoni's media release.
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| 282 in Bread |
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I had a quick spot check in the supermarket recently and was delighted to discover that it is getting very difficult to find standard loaves of bread which still contain 282!!! Looks like we have finally had a big win here. From my cursory check, 282 has been removed from all the standard bread brands ( at least here in the West), except for a few stragglers including Buttercup Country Split and Coles Savings ranges.
This is a fantastic outcome and a clear example of how consumer pressure ( especially checkout pressure) will influence manufacturers to stop using additives of concern.
No such luck though with the muffins , crumpets, rolls, flatbreads etc - most of these all still seem to still contain 282.We have lobbied on this issue previously but I think it is worth running with this again, so we will try again in a coming issue.
I would like to make mention here of EFES Bakery here in WA who have reformulated their flat breads to remove 282. These are a great product which work well for wraps and pizza bases. They are still trying to remove 472e from the mix, but they are actively trying to remove all suspect additives from all their bread products. These products are available in Woolworths supermarkets - if you cant find them - start asking for them to show your support of a company who is trying hard to do the right thing.
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| Sulfur Dioxide in Grapes |
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Recently I discovered by accident that it is routine practice Australia wide to treat fresh grapes with sulfur dioxide gas to extend shelf life. All grapes which are going to be stored 5 days or longer are likley to have been exposed to the gas.( Source: West Australian Agriculture Department).
Unfortunatley, there is no requirement for this to be declared at point of sale. I only discovered this because Coles DO declare this in their packaged grapes voluntarily. ( Pat on the back to Coles!!)
This is a big concern for asthmatics in particular. It is well known that sulfur dioxide is a virulent trigger for many asthmatics and many people go to great trouble to avoid obvious sources of sulfites such as dried fruit, but it is not commonly known about grapes. The WHO has recommended that the use of sulfites be phased out because of the known risk to asthmatics worldwide.
Please, if you know anyone with asthma or kids with asthma, pass this information on so they can make informed choices and avoid grapes if they need to.
Discoveries such as this just reinforce the sense of buying fresh, local produce , in season and preferably organic where possible. They longer the grapes have to be stored , the greater their exposure to SO2 will be.
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| New Research - More concerns about Aspartame |
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A new review suggests that excessive intake of aspartame may inhibit the ability of enzymes in the brain to function normally. This latest study by the University of Pretoria and published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition indicated that high consumption of the sweetener may lead to neurodegeneration.
Aspartame continues to be used in an ever increasing range of products, and most worrying is the growth of products using aspartame which are targetted for children. Confectionery is a major area where more and more products are replacing sugar with aspartame, and most chewing gums now have eliminated sugar in favour of a combination of aspartame and other artificial sweeteners. I have found aspartame in products including cordial, fruit juices, rice crackers and even sausages, so it is no longer just used in "diet" or "weight watchers" products. Read your labels carefully, and be aware that anything that claims to be sugar free may well be full of aspartame instead. Diabetics also need to be wary as many of the products targetted at this market often contain aspartame and / or other artifical sweetners linked to problems.
Click here to read more about this study.
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| Coke to Phase Out Sodium Benzoate |
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Soft drink giant Coca Cola have just announced their intention to phase out the use of sodium benzoate used as a preservative throughout its soft drink range.
The move confirms that consumer concern about the safety of this additive is well founded, and has been prompted by consumer backlash against soft drinks containing benzoates in preference for more natural products.
Products containing benzoates have been found to contain worryingly high levels of benzene, and research from the University of of Sheffield last year showed that both benzoates and sorbates had the capacity to cause cell damage at the DNA level, flagging concerns again about the long term safety of this ubiquitous additive.
Initially Coca Cola will only be removing 211 from Diet Coke ( one presumes it will still be full of aspartame though - why bother!!?) whilst they trial alternative preservatives in their wider product range.
Meanwhile, remember that Schweppes Lemonade ( in the bottle NOT the cans) does not contain benzoates , so if you want some soft drink for a special occasion, there is at least one safe soft drink product in the shops.
Click here to read full article about Coca Cola.
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| Lobbying Jobs |
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P&N Extra Juicy Cordial
I had selected this product out for us to applaud as this WAS the only cordial available in major supermarkets which did not use benzoate preservative and coal tar dye colours.. However, just recently, they have changed their products and have started to use benzoate preservatives again, meaning that there is now NO regular cordial you can buy without nasty colours AND benzoates. I dont use cordial at home but a lot of families do, and it is a staple in many school canteens and for parties and sporting clubs, so it would be great to have one brand on the shelves which could be trusted.
I suggest we try to convince them to go back to the drawing board, get rid of the benzoates and get rid of the coal tar dyes while they are at it.
Copy and paste the text below (or make up your own) and click on this link to join in this campaign.
"I used to buy your Extra Juicy Orange Fruit Juicy Cordial because it did not contain benzoate preservative or harmful colours. I was dismayed to learn recently that you have reformulated and are now using preservatives 211 and 223 across your range. Both of these preservatives are not recommended for asthmatics, and 211 is also linked to hyperactivity and adverse behaviour effects in children.
I will no longer purchase your product while it contains these additives. I hope that your company will decide to do the right thing and reformulate the cordials to be preservative free again, and also ensure that your products only contain safe, natural colours. At the moment there is no benzoate free cordial on the market, yet there are many consumers like me, who wish to avoid harmful additives. Due to widespread consumer concern in the UK, manufacturers there have already proven that this is entirely possible and it would be great to see an Australian owned company leading the way here also. I am more than happy to refrigerate the cordial to prevent spoilage, rather than have harmful preservatives in the product. A smaller size, ( eg 1ltr bottle,) would also be helpful."
Bakers Delight Pink Rolls for Breast Cancer.
Every year Bakers Delight have a wonderful promotion where they donate a substantial amount of money for breast cancer research from the sale of their pink iced finger buns. Whilst I do not want to detract at all from the worthiness of this donation ( I think its great they do this ) I can not endorse their use of food additive colours 123 Amaranth and 124 Ponceau Red in the icing on the pink buns.
It makes a bit of a mockery of their campaign to be using these additives with are themselves suspected carcinogens , linked to hyperactivity , asthma, skin rashes and more and actually both banned in foods in the USA!. As always there are perfectly safe colour additives avaialble for them to use to make pink icing, and there is no need at all to use these particular colours.
Last time we lobbied Bakers Delight they responded very quickly so I expect this campaign should have a positive outcome also.
Copy the text below, and click on this link, and paste your comments to join in this campaign.
"I am writing to express my dissapointment at your use of food additive colours 123 and 124 in your Pink Wish Pink Icing Finger Buns. Although I think it is great that your company is supporting breast cancer research, I think it is appalling that you choose to use colours such as these in products aimed at children, and especially products sold to raise awareness of breast cancer !!.
Additive 123 Amaranth is not considered safe for use in foods in the USA ( it has been banned since 1976) , because of concern about links to cancer in animal studies. It is also an additive which is not recommended for children because of links to hyperactivity, behaviour problems and asthma.
Additive 124 Ponceau Red is also not considered safe in foods in the USA . It is also regarded as a suspected carcinogen in animal studies and is one of 6 colours additives shown to definitely cause hyperactivity in children in recent research from the UK. This additive is now being phased out of foods throughout the UK due to concern about its proven adverse effect on childrens' behaviour.
There is no excuse for your company to continue to use these additives, especially not in products which are aimed at children. As a company which highlights avoidance of harmful preservatives, I hope that you will immediately look at the other harmful additives used in your products, and take steps to remove these as well, so that consumers can have trust in your products.
There are perfectly safe food addtive colours which you can use instead to make pink icing for your buns.If you were really serious about promoting breast cancer awareness and raising funds for research, I think you should ensure that ALL your producst contain only the safest of ingredients."
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Recipe |
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Berry Cordial
Whilst we are waiting for a good product to hit the supermarket shelves, here is an easy, yummy was to make cordial at home.
500gm frozen mixed berries , thawed
2 teaspoons of tartaric acid
1/2 cup lemon juice
11/2 cups castor sugar
1 cup boiling water
Place berries, tartaric acid, lemon juice and sugar in heat proof bowl. Add boiling water. Stir until sugar has dissolved.
Strain through a seive, pressing with the back of a spoon, into a large heatproof jug.
Pour into hot sterilised bottles and seal.
Refrigerate until chilled.
To Use: Use 1/3 cup cordial to 2/3 cup chilled sparkling mineral water or iced water.
To make it look pretty , serve in a jug and float some frozen raspberries on top
NOTE: Tartaric Acid is a naturally derived preservative. You can usually get it from health food stores or on line suppliers such as the Melboure Food Ingredient Depot.
You can view their product list here.
Banana Macadamia Muffins
Dry Ingredients
2 cups white spelt flour
3tsp baking powder
1tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 cup ground macadamia nuts
1/2 cup soft brown sugar
Wet Ingredients
2 very ripe bananas mashed
50gm melted butter
1 large egg beaten
1/2 cup milk
200gm low fat natural yoghurt
Mix dry ingredients togther well in a large bowl.
Combine wet ingredients in a second bowl
Stir wet ingredients into dry, and using a wooden spoon mix gently until just combined.
Spoon mixture into lightly greased muffin pans , filling each 3/4 of the way to the top.
Bake at 180 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes until browned. Remove from oven and leave to stand for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool.
Note: A sprinkling of choc chips through these is delicous also!!
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