Counting the additives in your food

Sixteen year old Harriet eats fast-food twice a day, and 30 packets of crisps per week. Until recently, she'd never eaten fish or many fresh vegetables.

'I don't like to eat normal chicken because it scares me where it comes from, so I'd rather have processed meat. I know it's rubbish, but it's much better,' she says.

Like millions of teenagers, Harriet is exposed to hundreds of chemicals and food additives in her diet every day.

Following recent research linking six commonly used food colourings and a preservative to problem behaviour in children, the government food watchdog, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) advised parents of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to avoid the additives tested in the research. But some experts think they should be banned:

What's a food additive?

A food additive is any substance which is added to food, for example to colour or preserve it, that wouldn't otherwise be there. All food additives – natural and artificial – must pass EU safety checks. But some people react badly to them, and may get breathing problems, a rash or become hyperactive.

What to look for on the label

• Preservatives to stop things going mouldy or contaminated with other microbes
  • Sulphur dioxide (E220) and other sulphites (E221, E222, E223, E224, E226, E227 and E228)
  • Parabens such as sodium benzoate (E211) and others such as E214 and E218



• Agents to stop things going rancid, losing colour or tasting off, such as ascorbic acid (E300)




• Colourings to give drinks, sweets and other foods their red, yellow, orange and green colours. For example, curcumin (E100), tartrazine (E102), quinoline yellow (E104), sunset yellow (E110) , carmoisine (E122), ponceau 4R (E124), allura red (E129), caramel (E150a)



• Emulsifiers (eg: lecithins (E322)) to help ingredients, such as oil and water, mix together



• Stabilisers, such as locust bean gum (E410) to stop ingredients separating



• Gelling agents and thickeners, such as pectin (E440), to thicken jams and sauces



• Flavour enhancers, such as monosodium glutamate MSDG (E621), known as MSG, to make some sauces, snacks and soups taste better



• Sweeteners, such as aspartame (E951), saccharin (E954), acesulfame-K (E950) and sorbitol (E420).