52 children’s medicines have at least one of 'Southampton Seven' – additives proven to increase hyperactive behaviours.
Some of the most popular children’s medicines contain E numbers that have been withdrawn from food and drink products because of links to hyperactivity in children. Products brands such as Calpol and Boots are among 52 children’s medicines that have at least one of the “Southampton Seven” – a group of additives that were proven to increase hyperactive behaviours in a landmark study five years ago.
In 2008, the Food Standards Agency imposed a “voluntary ban” on the six E number colourings included in the Southampton study, a move which led most supermarkets and food manufacturers to withdraw them. Synthetic colourings in food and drink targeted at children under 36 months old are subject to a European ban.
However, medicines fall under a different regulatory regime, and the substances are still commonly found in products for children. An investigation by the campaign group Action on Additives found that four of the six colourings – quinoline yell (E104), sunset yellow (E110), carmoisine (E122) and Ponceau 4R (E124) – are used in children’s medicines, including products for infants as young as two months. It called on the Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (Mhra) to ban the additives from food and medicines altogether.
More on this story here.
Eddie
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