Food Additives are found in most the food and drinks we consume regularly, yet most of do not realize the dangerous consequences of consuming these additives and flavour enhancers. Whether they are synthetic or from natural sources, the detrimental effects on our bodies can be severe and long term.
We must learn to automatically look at the ingredient lists of our everyday products and understand all the elements that make up this list. In most countries food preservatives are still coded (E-number) and people have no clue of what they are eating. In the United States alone, there is more than 3,000 substances that can be added too food products.
Eating mostly fresh, whole foods is the best way to stay away from nasty additives. Assuming you do include some processed foods in your diet, the following additives are ones you surely want to stay away from. Look for them on ingredient labels and if one turns up, try find an alternate product. The rewards are well worth the effort.
We will be adding a purse size nasty additive list soon. Stay Tuned.
Comprehensive List of Nasty Food Additives
| Code | Additive Names and Functions | Potential Ill Health Effects |
|---|---|---|
| 120, E120 |
COLOURING (Yellow): Tartrazine Coal tar dye & azo dye; banned from foods in Norway & Finland and heavily restricted in Austria, Sweden and Germany |
USE: Confectionary; sweet corn; soft drink; marzipan; canned peas; cheese crackers; mint sauce; fruit juice cordial; jam; pickles; cereal; packaged soup; lollies; snack food. DANGERS: Hyperactivity; thyroid tumours; aggression; headache; migraine; nettle rash; hay fever; asthma; tingling of the mouth; insomnia; confusion; itching; blurred vision; swelling of the lips. |
| 120, E120 |
COLOURING (Red): Cochineal, Carminic Acid, Carmines |
USE: Some alcoholic drinks; baked goods; red apple sauce; confections. DANGERS: Asthma; hyperactivity; hay fever; allergic reactions - possibly life threatening |
| 133, E133 |
COLOURING (Blue): Brilliant Blue FCF Coal tar dye; banned in Austria, Belgium, France, Switzerland and others |
USE: Soft drink; canned processed peas; dairy products; gelatine; desserts; cereal; sweets DANGERS: Cancer; malignant tumours; allergic reactions in chemically sensitive people; asthma; hyperactivity |
|
200, 201, 202, 203 |
PRESERVATIVES Calcium sorbate 203 |
USED IN processed fruit and vegetable products, drinks, wine. DANGERS: small percentage of people show slight pseudo-allergic reactions to sodium sorbate, some people are allergic to potassium sorbate and it causes heart palpitations and chest pains. Sorbic acid may cause rashes, asthma and hyperactivity. |
| 210, 211, 212, 213 |
BENZOATES Benzoic acid 210 Benzoic acid is also used in the manufacture of plasticisers, resin coatings and caprolactam. It is an antiseptic, antifungal, and a antipyretic agent. Also used in cosmetics, as an antiseptic in many cough medications and an antifungal in ointments |
USED IN most soft drinks, diet drinks, cordials, juice drinks. DANGERS: Benzioc acid can cause asthma, especially in those dependant on steroid asthma medications. Is also reputed to cause neurological disorders and to react with sulphur bisulphite (222), and shown to provoke hyperactivity in children. Sodium benzoate is known to cause nettle rash and aggravate asthma. |
| 220, E220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228 |
PRESERVATIVE, Calcium hydrogen sulphite 227 220 & E220 Sodium Dioxide. A gas formed from the burning of Sulphur or gypsum |
USE: Dried fruit; beer; fruit juice; gelatine; wine; soft drink; cordial, jam, dairy products; potato products; soup and vegetable products, like drinks. DANGERS: Asthma; hyperactivity; headache; backache; gastric irritation; liver toxicity; destroys vitamin A in foods; bronchitis; nausea; teratogen (developmental abnormalities in a fetus) and much more. |
| 249, E249, 250, 251, 252 |
PRESERVATIVE, Potassium nitrate 252 Potassium nitrate is also used in fireworks as well as fertilisers. May be derived from waste animal or vegetable matter. |
USE: Cured meats; meat spread; bacon; sausages, devon. DANGERS: Can cause asthma; cancer; headache; destroys red blood cells; breathing difficulties and dizziness. Potassium nitrate May cause reproductive disorders. May provoke hyperactivity and other adverse reactions; potentially carcinogenic; restricted in many countries. Potassium nitrite is not permitted in foods for infant and young children. Other names: nitrous acid potassium salt. Sodium nitrate is toxic. May be fatal if swallowed. IT iis harmful if swallowed or inhaled. Skin, eye and respiratory irritant. |
| 280, 281, 282, 283, E924 |
PROPIONATES, Calcium propionate 282 Propionates occur naturally in fermented foods, human perspiration and ruminants digestive tract, also can be derived commercially from ethylene and carbon monoxide or propionaldehyde or natural gas or fermented wood pulp. Sodium propionate is the sodium salt of propionic acid, E280. It is used as an antimicrobial agent in bread to prevent germination of some types of bacteria |
USED IN most bread in Australia and USA. Propionates are antimicrobial. Recently permitted in cheese, fruit and vegetable products. Very rare in Europe. Also added as fermented whey powder. DANGERS: All propionates are thought to be linked with migraine headaches. Propionic acid is corrosive - causes burns. Harmful if swallowed. Liquid may burn eyes. Severe eye and skin irritant. Calcium propionate can cause symptoms similar to a gall bladder attack. Potassium Bromate: California requires a cancer warning on products with this ingredient. |
| E284, E285 |
PRESERVATIVE, Boric acid E284 Boric acid is best known for being an antiseptic, but it is also used in insecticides, leather finishing, paints, soaps, wood preserving, and in ceramics and glass manufacturing. Borax has many industrial uses including as an added ingredient in washing powders, water softeners and soaps. |
USED IN foods, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and numerous industrial processes. DANGERS: Boric acid is suspected to be a neurotoxic hazard. Ingestion is harmful and may be fatal. Harmful by inhalation. Irritant. May cause congenital malformation in the fetus. Laboratory tests with animals suggest this material may cause reproductive disorders. Borax: Possible risk that this may cause reproductive disorders, based on tests with laboratory animals. Eye and skin irritant. Harmful by ingestion |
| 310, 311, 312, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321 |
ANTIOXIDANTS Butylated hydoxyanisole (BHA) 320 Butylated Hydoxyanisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydozyttoluene (BHT) are used to prevent foods from oxidizing and keeping fats and oils from going rancid. |
USED IN oils and margarines to prevent rancidity, chips, fried snack foods, fast foods. Not necessarily listed on labels where vegetable oil is a component, due to the 5% labelling loophole. DANGERS: Propyl Gallate has been linked to cancer and you should avoid it. BHA and BHT: these additives have been found by some studies to cause cancer in rats. |
| 621, E621, 622, 623, 624, 625, 627, 635 |
FLAVOUR ENCHANCER, Calcium dihydrogen diLglutamate 623 Monosodium - L Glutamate and derivatives - MSG |
USE: Packet soup; soy sauce; flavoured noodles; meats; low sodium salt substitute; malt extract; quick soup; pickles; sauces; gelatine; maltodextrin; DANGERS: Problems in people with poor kidney function; headache; asthma; hyperactivity; depression; irritability; mood changes; chest pain; numbness; migraine; infertility; convulsions; abdominal discomfort; nausea; vomiting; allergic reactions in aspirin-sensitive people and asthmatics; allergic reactions in sensitive people; teratogen. |
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