Food preservatives linked to hyperactivity - sodium benzoate -

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Common food preservative mixed with artificial coloring found in ice cream, soda and candy associated with hyperactivity in kids, says study.

By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writer
September 7 2007: 10:54 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The widely-used food preservative sodium benzoate has been linked to hyperactivity in children, according to a study from British researchers.

Sodium benzoate, when combined with various food dyes such as "sunset yellow" and "allura red," was associated with increased hyperactive behavior in children, in a study conducted by scientists at the University of Southampton in England.

"We now have clear evidence that mixtures of certain food colors and benzoate preservative can adversely influence the behavior of children," said Dr. Jim Stevenson, psychology professor at the University of Southampton and author of the study, in a press release. "We have now shown that for a large group of children in the general population, consumption of certain mixtures of artificial food colors and benzoate preservative can influence their hyperactive behavior."

The study used food colors that are commonly found in soda, candy and ice cream, according to the Food Standards Agency, a British watchdog organization that funded the experiment with a $1.5 million grant. The results were published in The Lancet, a British medical journal, on Sept. 6.

More at link below:

http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/07/news/companies/sodium_benzoate/index.htm?postversion=2007090710

[tsuki]

1. This has been questioned in the US since 1972. But then, the

corporate Republicans gave 7 million to the National Science Foundation to disprove an unproven theory and seem the person calling for actual studies.

Add to SB, BHA, BHT and TBHQ. Also, all the colors and flavors derived from petroleum, coal and kerosene.

[BadgerKid]

2. List of food additives in the US

Dial-up warning!

http://www.foodsafety.gov/~dms/eafus.html
http://www.grokfood.com/additives/

Somewhere on my hard drive from about four years ago is a list of chemicals, labeled by their E-codes, that are banned in Europe. I could not quickly relocate it on the web either, but I seem to remember that some of the color dyes were banned.