Sugar rush: The truth about E numbers and hyperactivity
As the European Food Safety Authority bans titanium dioxide from its safe list, dietitian Orla Walsh gives the lowdown on how to decipher food packaging, cut down on hidden sugars in your family’s diet, and balance ‘sometimes foods’ with great nutrition
Last month, news of a new class action lawsuit against the Mars Corporation over claims their use of titanium dioxide — which is used to help produce those rainbow hues in Skittles — left a bad taste in the mouths of many and caused quite a frenzy online.
A resident of San Leandro in California is alleging that people who consume Skittles “are at heightened risk of a host of health effects for which they were unaware stemming from genotoxicity — the ability of a chemical substance to change DNA”. According to a spokesperson for Mars, the additive has not been used in the EU version of the sweets, or in any other EU products since 2020.
Now while the use of the additive — which is employed as a colouring agent in foods — isn’t illegal in the United States, when it comes to additives, the European Union has strict rules on what can and cannot be added. And in 2021, titanium dioxide was banned by the European Food Safety Authority because it could “no longer be considered safe as a food additive.”
This has left many parents questioning what additives are safe and what could be harmful: what exactly is titanium dioxide aka E171? And what about all the other E-numbers and sugars knocking around in our food? Dietitian Orla Walsh gives us a breakdown of E-numbers and why we should take care what we are consuming.
A number is used in the European Union to identify permitted food additives. An E-number means that an additive has passed the official safety tests and has been approved for use in food products. But if you look at the additive (or E-number) list, you might be surprised to see lots of ingredients which have been touted as superfoods.
For example, E100 is curcumin which is the wonder ingredient of turmeric. Silver and gold have E-numbers and so too do vitamins and minerals. Food additives are grouped by what they do, whether they’re antioxidants, colours, preservatives or sweeteners.
But that doesn’t mean that all of the E-numbers are perfectly healthy in every single body.
For example, the Food Standards Agency in the UK funded research into possible links between food colours and hyperactivity — it found that consuming six artificial food colours, in particular, could lead to increased hyperactivity in some children. These artificial colours are: sunset yellow FCF (E110); quinoline yellow (E104; carmoisine (E122); allura red (E129; tartrazine (E102); and ponceau 4R (E124).
However, food colouring probably only plays a small part and removing certain colourings may not lead to any noticeable improvement. At present, the link isn’t rock-solid, so more research is certainly needed.
What research is clear on is that Irish children are eating too much sugar. But as a mother, I get it. There are many reasons why less healthy stuff will creep into their diets on a regular basis.
You know it’ll instantly (but briefly) lift them out of a fouler. It tastes good so they nearly always want it — but some kids struggle to locate their off switch.
‘There are a lot of reasons to care. When a child eats foods that are high in free sugars regularly in childhood years they’ll probably consume them even more often as adults. A parent influences generations to come’
So to really whittle down the volume of sugar our children take in, we as parents need to eat less too. It’s a challenge to avoid because it’s everywhere, but you’re trying to find the balance between your family enjoying treats in a healthy manner and having too much.
There are lots of reasons to care about sugar intake. When a child eats foods that are high in free sugars regularly, they’ll probably consume them even more often as adults. A parent influences generations to come.
In recent years, the prevalence of oral health problems has increased and it’s now not unheard of for children to need general anaesthetic to solve dental issues.
Also, children’s vitamin and mineral requirements are incredibly high. To meet these nutrient needs without overfeeding them is tricky, and often it can only be done by limiting treats to a ‘sometimes’ basis.
New statistics show that one in four children aged seven is either overweight or obese. We know there is a relationship between sugar-sweetened beverages and treat foods, and excess body fat.
Firstly, when I say sugar I’m talking about free sugars. Free sugars do not include natural sugars found when eating whole fruit or consuming natural yoghurt or milk. These foods are incredibly healthy and nutritious, and they should be consumed several times a day by kids. Free sugars are those added to foods like cakes and biscuits, as well as those found in honey and fruit juices.
The average three-year-old is eating 10tsp of free sugars a day. A whopping 75pc of three-year-olds had free sugar intake greater than the maximum recommendations of 4-5tsp, while only 4pc met the lower threshold.
Overall, one in five school children in Ireland reports consuming sweets more than once daily. But the more you have it, the more you want it. Intake can increase with age due to this, as well as other reasons such as an increase in food independence. Therefore, the percentage of children who consume sweets more than once daily is higher among older children.
Orla Walsh believes helping kids get the right nutritional balance could influence future generations. Photo: Gerry Mooney
Free sugars often come in at breakfast. Some breakfast cereals are one-third sugar. When this is consumed with fruit juice, smoothies or sweetened yoghurts, the sugar quota can be reached before they head off to school. Switching to porridge oats for breakfast, enjoying fruit rather than fruit juice and opting for natural yoghurt or a lower sugar variety will go a long way.
The more foods you eat that are wholefoods, the less you’ll have to read the label: a bag of oats will only contain oats. An apple will only contain apple. Nonetheless, some everyday foods do come in packages and have been processed. So it’s helpful to know how to read the label.
A guideline is to choose a breakfast cereal with less than 5 grams of sugar per 100g and more than 6 grams of fibre per 100g. Cereals that hit these markers include Lizi’s low sugar granola, Shreddies (the simple ones), Weetabix, Ready Brek, no added sugar muesli, Kellogg by Kids and porridge.
After breakfast, it’s the chocolate, cakes, sweets and biscuits that make up the bulk of the free sugar level intake. The ultimate goal is to eat these foods in moderation. Moderation for most people will mean not every day. It can be helpful to describe these foods are ‘sometimes foods’ around your kids, while healthier foods could be described as ‘everyday foods’. As to when you have them, that’s up to the parent when kids are young. Lots will dictate the frequency, including their body size.
For the sake of their teeth, it’s preferable to provide treat foods with meals. The portion needs to be considered with about 100kcal per ‘sometimes foods’ being a simple goal. For example: 4 squares of chocolate; 1 chocolate biscuit; 2 plain biscuits; 1 small cupcake (no icing); ½ cereal bar; 1 scoop of ice cream.
Remember: the more often they have treat foods, the more they want it. Consumption levels can then climb with age. As treat foods often come in at snack time, this can make them less hungry for the nutrient-dense foods at mealtime, which can lead to them not getting enough nutrients.
Ultimately we want children to be nourished and satiated, which doesn’t always leave much room for extras. As research grows, we’ll know more about certain additives. But for the moment, it’s best to air on the side of caution and opt for wholefoods the bulk of the time.
About Titanium Dioxide E171
According to a bulletin from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, titanium dioxide is “an insoluble white powder” that “is used extensively in many commercial products, including paint, cosmetics, plastics, paper, and food, as an anti-caking or whitening agent.”
“After oral ingestion, the absorption of titanium dioxide particles is low, however, they can accumulate in the body,” Maged Younes, chair of the European Food Safety Authority’s expert Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings, said in a May 2021 statement.
Starting August 7, the use of titanium dioxide in food will be banned in the European Union.
European action was based on an assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in May 2021 which raised potential concerns about over-accumulation of titanium dioxide particles in the body and possible genotoxicity. Genotoxicity is the ability of a substance to damage DNA, which may lead to cancer.
The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) said after reviewing the evidence, no safety concerns have been identified, which means there will not be a change to regulation in England and Wales. Food Standards Scotland (FSS) also reached the same conclusion.
