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How Dangerous Are the E Numbers
There are a few types of additives that you are most likely to see on food labels, marked as either their exact name, or with E followed by number.
Antioxidants. Any food made using fats or oils - from meat pies to mayonnaise - is likely to contain antioxidants. These make foods last longer by helping to stop the fats, oils and certain vitamins from combining with oxygen in the air. Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, is one of the most widely used antioxidants.
Preservatives help stop food 'go off' and mean that food can be kept safe for longer. Most packed food, including non-organic baby food jars, is likely to include preservatives. For example, to stop mould or bacteria growing, dried fruit is often treated with the dangerous sulphur dioxide (E220); and bacon, ham, corned beef and other 'cured' meats are often treated with nitrite and nitrate (E249 to E252) during the curing process.
Benzoic acid (E210) and other benzoates (E211, E212, E213, E214, E215, E216, E217, E218 and E219) are other food preservatives which could make the symptoms of asthma and eczema worse in children who already have these conditions.
More traditional preservatives such as sugar, salt and vinegar are also still used to preserve some foods, which may be harmful for your baby and toddler.
Colours are sometimes used to replace the natural colour lost during food processing or storage, or to make products a consistent colour.
Colours commonly found include caramel (E150a), which is used in products such as gravy and soft drinks; and curcumin (E100), a yellow colour extracted from turmeric roots. Some recent studies have found that curcumin intake can lead to mild nausea, diarrhoea, and iron deficiency.
Certain combinations of the following artificial food colours: sunset yellow (E110), quinoline yellow (E104), carmoisine (E122), allura red (E129), tartrazine (E102) and ponceau 4R (E124) have been linked to a negative effect on children’s behaviour, causing hyperactivity, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). These colours are used in soft drinks, sweets and ice cream. Studies have shown that eating foods or drinks containing tartrazine can cause nettle rash (urticaria), dermatitis (an allergic skin condition), asthma, or rhinitis (runny nose) in a very small number of people. The use of tartrazine has decreased in recent years.
Emulsifiers such as Lecithins (E322), help mix ingredients together that would normally separate, such as oil and water. Egg-derived lecithin may be a concern for those children with special dietary needs (such as egg-allergy). Also, if not purified before being used as a food ingredient, it could significantly raise the overall cholesterol content of the food.
Stabilisers, such as locust bean gum (E410) made from carob beans, or xanthan gum, help stop oil separation. Some people are allergic to xanthan gum, with symptoms of intestinal gripes, diarrhoea, temporary high blood pressure, respiratory symptoms, and migraine headaches. Since xanthan gum is produced by a bacterium that is fed corn to grow, some people allergic to corn will also react to it.
Flavour enhancers are used to bring out the flavour in a wide range of savoury, sweet foods and even medicines (baby syrups or vitamin drops) without adding a flavour of their own.
For example monosodium glutamate (E621), known as MSG, is added to processed foods, especially soups, sauces and sausages. It has been subject to a number if health studies which has linked it to worsening of asthmatic symptoms.
Flavourings are added to a wide range of foods, usually in very small amounts, to give a particular taste or smell.
Sweeteners. “Intense sweeteners”, such as aspartame (E951), saccharin (E954) and acesulfame-K (E950) are many times sweeter than sugar and so only very small amounts are used.
Bulk sweeteners, such as sorbitol (E420), have about the same sweetness as sugar and so they are used in similar amounts to sugar. So it is best to consider not giving a sweetened drink to your child. Aspartame has been the subject of controversy regarding its safety. There have been lots of studies showing and link between the aspartame consumption and headaches, dizziness, mood change, and joint pain later in life. Its effects can be slow and subtle, but quite serious - sometimes leading to miscarriages and seizures.
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