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Action on additives - click here to visit the website

Success for Action on Additives campaign: artificial food colourings to be removed from food and drink products

The Action on Additives website lists over 1,000 products that contain one or more of the additives shown to increase hyperactivity in children. The campaign has significantly contributed to the Food Standards Agency’s decision (10th April 2008) to advise ministers to call for an EU ban on six artificial food colourings. This advice will be coupled with a voluntary ban in the UK by the end of 2009.

For more information visit the
Action on Additives
website. The site allows you to submit more products and comment on the foods, drinks and medicines already listed.

Image of a child's face. Clicking here will take you to the Action on Additives website

 

Moses with a 'necklace' of pineapples,.

Pineapple bling
“I call this photo of myself pineapple bling,” says Moses Kibuuka Muwanga, founder of the Jali Organic Association. When Sheffield-based Muwanga inherited nearly 500 acres of an island in Lake Victoria off the banks of Uganda, he did not evict the squatters who had taken up residence, instead he got them together to set up an organic fruit business. See Food Magazine 78, published 6th August 2007

 

Soft drinks contain sodium benzoate (E211) . When used in medicines this additive comes with a health warning, but you won't find any warning on food or drink products.

Additives should carry health warnings

A report published in the latest issue of The Food Magazine (June 2007) reveals that several preservatives and colourings, which are regularly used in food and drink products, are supposed to carry health warnings when used in medicines for human consumption. The additives, some of which have already been linked to behavioural problems in children, do not have to carry any warnings when used in foods and drinks.

 

Chewonthis.org.uk

Check out Chew on this - a great new website to get children thinking about food!

www.chewonthis.org.uk

 

Making a complaint
Take action against misleading advertising or packaging. How to make a complaint if you have purchased food or drink that is unfit for consumption

 

Burning calories the slow way

Talking on the phone for 30 min can burn off four calories! Letting the dog out of the back door will use up another two calories!

Check out our suggestions for other slow (and fast) methods of burning off the calories.

 

Healthy Hexagon, Eat less salt project

The Food Commission is coordinating a pioneering project in south east London which aims to improve the health of thousands of tenants and staff of the Sydenham-based Hexagon Housing Association.

The Healthy Hexagon Eat less salt project


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Faking the flavour

Click on the strawberries for the ful story.Flavouring is a frequently over-looked ingredient which crops up in much of our food and drink. But, why does our food need extra flavourings and what are they made from?

First published in The Food Magazine - see the full story here.

Give artificial colours the red card

Image of a child receiving medicine. Click here for full story. Research has confirmed a link between certain food additives and hyperactivity. We investigate the use of these in children's medicines.

First published in The Food Magazine - see the full story here.


Who we are and what we do

Good food should be tasty, nutritious and safe to eat, so why is our food a major cause of preventable diseases such as obesity, cancer and strokes?

Last year food and drink companies bombarded us with over £700m worth of advertising, much of it promoting products with unhealthy levels of fat, sugar or salt.

Celebrities encourage children to consume burgers, crisps and soft drinks. Over one in five adults are now obese and children are rapidly catching them up.

Improving the food we eat is an essential step towards protecting the nation's health. But where can you go for the straight-forward, honest information you need? To us, The Food Commission. We have been campaigning for healthier, safer food in the UK for twenty years - so we really know our stuff.

Click on the buttons above to find out more about The Food Commission, our work and The Food Magazine.

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In the latest Food Magazine
Food Magazine 80 published 25th February 2008

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Legal challenge to baby formula rules: A legal challenge by baby formula manufacturers has stopped the introduction of new rules to control the marketing of their products

Dutch choose sustainable fish:
Shoppers in the Netherlands take serious steps to protect their seafood supply.

Choice on our high streets:
The Competition Commission believes that to provide shoppers with more choice we need more big supermarkets.
Such logic poses an immense threat to our remaining independent shops.

Government promises to tackle obesity: The Government is trying, again, to cut obesity levels. Will a new £372 million strategy called Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives make any difference?

Trans fats and fast food: Are fast food eaters at more risk?

Egg labelling:
The ongoing battle to find out where our eggs actually come from.

Give artificial colours the red card: Research has confirmed a link between certain food additives and hyperactivity. Anna Glayzer investigates the use of these in children's medicines.

Healthy food costs more: The price difference between healthy and less healthy foods is increasing, and the difference is greatest in low income areas.

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High art, low wages: It is not easy to purchase a healthy diet on a low wage. Campaigners are challenging employers like the Tate Galleries to pay their workers a 'Living Wage'.

Feeding the thousands: Most of us would balk at feeding ten dinner party guests, never mind thousands of strangers. And yet, this is what Sikh temples do every week. Jessica Mitchell reports.

Meat eater's dilemma: Animal welfare concerns and meat scare stories have dominated the headlines since the 1980s. But finally, the environmental impact of livestock products is being officially recognised.

Faking the flavour: Flavouring is a frequently over-looked ingredient which crops up in much of our food and drink. But, why does our food need extra flavourings and what are they made from? Ian Tokelove investigates.

Liquid candy and crunchy nuts: An international alliance of campaign organisations, including The Food Commission, is calling for tighter controls on the marketing of sugary drinks. But, soft drinks are not the only sugary problem, as The Food Magazine reports.

Obesity - make industry solve the problem:
Respected US lawyer Stephen Sugarman wants to put a legal duty on food companies to reduce child obesity levels. Tim Lobstein reports.

FSA challenged to define 'seasonal':
Consumer, environment and food groups have protested to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) about the misuse of food labelling terms.

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Breaking the rules on baby food: A new report details the insidious ways companies undermine breastfeeding.

Legal, decent, honest and true? Misleading food and drink advertisements are supposed to be regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Here we report on recent adjudications.

Books
Feeding kids, Protecting our orchard heritage, Swindled, Planet chicken

+ letters, backbites and lots more in every issue!

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The Food Commission (UK) Ltd, 94 White Lion Street, London N1 9PF

Campaigning for safer, healthier food in the UK

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