Why are some additives harmful?
Mutagens and Teratogens are just two types of additives that are found in commonly consumed food and drinks. Mutagens are agents that damage DNA, while Teratogens are agents that cause birth defects.
Many additives currently allowed in Australia are questionable - banned in other countries (including America, Norway, Austria, Sweden, Russia, Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, UK, and Japan), suspected carcinogens, links with hyperactivity, skin irritations and sleep disorders. They are often used to make food look better and last longer at the cheapest price. For example, a very popular chocolate coated chocolate biscuit is not brown in colour due to the cocoa content, but due to a combination of artificial colours - yellow, orange/red, blue, and brown. Harmful antioxidants are often used because they are cheaper than the safe ones.
A particular antioxidant (319) found in margarines, peanut butters, salad oils, etc, causes cancer and birth defects in animals, and a dose of 5 grams is fatal to an adult human.
Another antioxidant and preservative (320), found in some ice creams, margarines, chewing gums, etc, accumulates in the body fat so that residual levels increase over time. 320 is a known animal carcinogen, and produces detrimental reproductive effects in animal tests, it is a suspected human carcinogen, acts as a xeno-oestrogen (a substance that mimics the effects of oestrogen and has been shown to stimulate the growth of breast cells in laboratory cultures). Anyone for man-boobs?!
MSG (Monosodium L-Glutamate) is a white, tasteless powder used to enhance or modify flavours of food (eg any potato chips, savoury biscuits, rice crackers, etc that are flavoured probably contain MSG or one of the other flavour enhancers 620-635, which have the same range of adverse health impacts as MSG). In 1969 MSG was banned from use in baby foods in America due to research demonstrating that it caused detrimental effects on young animals, particularly the brain and nervous systems. Pregnant monkeys and rats fed MSG gave birth to brain-damaged offspring. Glutamates belong to a group of amino acids called "exitotoxins" - substances that, when applied to neurons, will cause them to become overstimulated, and if overstimulated too much, they will die (ie they kill brain cells). Ongoing research has implicated excess glutamate as a contributing factor in learning disorders, brain tumours, hyperactivity, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and endocrine-system problems later in life. MSG is linked to asthma, sleep disturbances, migraine, irritability, and depression. MSG is not permitted in foods for infants and young children.
Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein - watch out for this one on the label. Apart from containing MSG, here's why to avoid it - it is made from junk vegetables selected for their high quantity of excitotoxins (they're those ones that kill brain cells), which are then boiled in a vat of sulphuric acid for several hours. The acid is then neutralised with caustic soda, the brown sludge that forms on top is scraped off and dried into a powder, containing known carcinogens and dicarboxylic acid. Yum.
Aspartame, commonly used as an artificial sweetener, is linked with the development of brain tumours in rats. It is also an excitotoxin (keep knocking off those brain cells). Saccharin, Acesulphame Potassium, and Cyclamates (also artificial sweeteners) aren't much better, Saccharin causing cancer in lab animals, and being classified as a weak human carcinogen, and Acesulphame Potassium promoting tumour growth in animals. Cyclamates are regarded as potential carcinogens.
Sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite (250 and 251) are widely considered to be toxic and carcinogenic in humans. Nitrites can enter the bloodstream and change the nature of red blood cells which transport oxygen. These additives are not permitted in foods for infants and young children. Nitrites and nitrates are known to react with amines in meats to form nitrosamines, which are hazardous poisons and animal carcinogens.
Sulphites (220-228) are shown to trigger asthma attacks in sufferers, as sulphur dioxide gas is released and inhaled as the food is swallowed. 220 is a suspected mutagen and possible teratogen.
Now I know people say that everything causes cancer in rats, so think about this... Every human carcinogen causes cancer in animals; every chemical known to cause brain damage in humans causes damage to the brain and nervous systems of animals; every chemical known to interfere with reproductive function in humans interferes with reproduction in animals; almost every known cause of birth defects in humans also causes birth defects in animals; with a few exceptions, when toxic chemicals harm animals, they almost always cause similar harm in humans.
A study in the UK estimated that by age 18, most children will have consumed half their body weight in food additives.
Oh and you know those additives that are not permitted in foods for infants and young children? Sadly Food Standards Australia and New Zealand define infants and young children as those under 12 months old. So those corn chips or potato chips or rice crackers that young children are munching on actually contain flavour enhancers (see MSG information above). But god forbid them having it if they are under 12 months...
Now here's the really scary bit:
Food labelling laws in Australia suck! Manufacturers can get away with not listing additives if they are present in an ingredient that comprises 5% or less of the product.
For example, a company producing muesli bars that contains vegetable oil is not required to list the additives contained in the vegetable oil itself, as the oil makes up less than 5% of the muesli bar. Food Standards Australia and New Zealand recently changed this law - it used to be 10% rather than 5%. They have kept the law in place as they believe that additives currently allowed in Australia can be considered safe (even when banned in other countries!).
This is not fair! Consumers deserve the opportunity to decide for ourselves. Particularly those of us who have allergies to certain additives. Manufacturers need to be forced to come clean on their labels. They've got it pretty easy - when it comes to listing additives, they have a choice whether they list the additive by name or number - many are moving towards names as more consumers are becoming wary of buying products with large amounts of numbers in the ingredients. Some companies are even smarter - they use the chemical symbol - eg Sulphur Dioxide (220) is now sometimes listed as SO2. Makes it very hard for us to make informed choices.
For more info visit
http://www.additivealert.com.au
Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2006 8:05 am
then sticking a needle in my backside without knowing what it tastes like 
