FDF: Surprised by FSA
Friday, 11 Apr 2008 13:41
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has said it is "surprised" at the decision of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to ask manufacturers to remove six artificial colours from food and drink.
FDF director of communications Julian Hunt said UK manufacturers are already taking the colours out of products on supermarket shelves.
"We are surprised the FSA board feels it is an appropriate use of their powers to call for a voluntary ban," he explained.
"The UK industry has for a number of years been responding to consumers' demands for fewer artificial additives in food and drinks."
The FSA's decision follows research published last September by researchers at Southampton University which linked the colours with hyperactivity in children.
"Our members have been reducing the use of the colours highlighted in the Southampton study," Mr Hunt continued.
"The overwhelming majority of products don't contain these particular colours. However, there are a handful of popular food and drinks where reformulation has not been possible for technical reasons and we are concerned these will have to be taken off shop shelves.
"The FSA proposal puts the UK at odds with the rest of Europe, where decisions about the safety of additives are made. Such a ban could not apply to imports from Europe since the UK would be the only country to ban these colours, which raises questions about how workable it really is."
