ADDITIVES: FOOD FOR THOUGHT

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From the excellent publication - 's Democracy & Health News

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http://www.precaution.org/lib/07/ht070926.htm#Additives_Food_for_Thought

SocialistWorkerOnline (London, UK), September 29, 2007

ADDITIVES: FOOD FOR THOUGHT

['s introduction: " There is good reason to think that certain

additives create harm well beyond hyperactivity in children -- they may

also play an important role in disease and mental illness in adults.... We

must demand that our government adopts the precautionary principle. " ]

By Malcolm Povey

The fact that many food additives are very harmful has been public

knowledge for over 30 years. Two decades ago the disclosure that the red

dye ponceau 4R caused allergic reactions such as skin rashes and

hyperactivity led to its removal from brands such as Ribena and Smarties.

But the food industry fought back, and this month's scare over food

additives is only one of many -- as these dangerous chemicals have remained

legal for use in food.

This was described by the Guardian as " an embarrassment " to the Food

Standards Agency (FSA), which approved the use of the following chemicals,

well known for their adverse effects on many children: sunset yellow

(E110), quinoline yellow (E104), carmoisine (E122), allura red (E129),

tartrazine (E102) ponceau 4R (E124), and sodium benzoate (E211).

All but sodium benzoate, an antibacterial preservative, are colours with

natural replacements available. The purity of the chemicals involved is

controlled for industrial use but not for their use in foods.

The issue now is connected with the scapegoating of young people -- the

FSA's response to the University of Southampton report which was the basis

for the recent newspaper scares was called " Hyperactivity And Colours:

Advice To Parents " .

The FSA has not suggested that the additives in question should be banned.

They say that additives are needed in food production and that the evidence

is contradictory.

It is not true that all additives are " necessary " . Food additives such as

bright colours are added to make food visually attractive in a competitive

market. Preservatives are added because food is transported over long

distances and stored for a long time, thus cheapening manufacture and sales

costs and increasing profits.

The use of additives is much more likely in foods consumed by the poor than

by the wealthy who can afford to pay for " healthy foods " .

Control by the food industry over ingredients is as complete now as it was

two centuries ago in the days of the Factory Acts. In fact, the basic

regulatory system over the environment of working class people has not

changed substantially since the 19th century.

The bosses introduced the Factory Act and Public Health Act when they

realised that unregulated capitalism was destroying the environment to such

a degree that workers were dying faster than they were being born.

While a few more liberal bosses had an enlightened concern for the health

of their workforce, for most it was simply a question of a fear of rising

wages due to scarce labour.

Perhaps today we are seeing the start of a similar process, as modern

capitalism has transformed our environment again. By providing a ready

source of processed food and automating working lives it has created a very

unhealthy environment.

Diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease have become the big killers.

There is good reason to think that certain additives create harm well

beyond hyperactivity in children -- they may also play an important role in

disease and mental illness in adults.

It is true that some additives are required for food production.

Nonetheless, we must demand that our government adopts the precautionary

principle.

Where there is evidence for widespread ill effects, the ingredient should

be banned until it is shown to be safe through government funded scientific

investigation independent of the food companies.

There needs to be independent, provision of health and nutritional advice

available to the public so that informed decisions can be made.

This is important as food labelling is an area where regulation tends to

protect the producer from the consumer. By no means must all ingredients be

listed and under some circumstances they need not be listed at all.

For example, butter can be dyed yellow by including yellow dye in cattle

feed, and it does not have to be included on the label, which will indicate

" pure " butter.

States regulate the food industry in the interests of capitalism, not in

the interests of workers. But even these attempts at regulation are negated

by the global market and its anarchic nature.

So the ponceau 4R, carmosine and tartrazine that were removed from

children's foods in the 1980s gradually found their way back in again.

The only way to ensure the provision of healthy food and a safe environment

in the long term is for production to be controlled through bottom-up

democratic planning.

In the meantime, we must demand that the additives implicated by the

University of Southampton study be banned for use in foods.

Malcolm Povey is professor of food physics at the University of Leeds

Copyright Copyright Socialist Worker

's Democracy & Health News (formerly 's Environment &

Health News) highlights the connections between issues that are

often considered separately or not at all.

The natural world is deteriorating and human health is declining

because those who make the important decisions aren't the ones who

bear the brunt. Our purpose is to connect the dots between human

health, the destruction of nature, the decline of community, the

rise of economic insecurity and inequalities, growing stress among

workers and families, and the crippling legacies of patriarchy,

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therefore ruled by the few.

In a democracy, there are no more fundamental questions than, " Who

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