I read that these dangerous additives can cause anything from peptic disorders to cancer. So I listed some of the more dangerous ones, such as E330, and found that they can be found in sodas, cakes and cheeses. Just yesterday, after cutting out yellow cheeses from my diet for a while, I thought I’d get the 9 percent light yellow cheese, but found that almost all the packaged yellow cheeses contained E330 and other (maybe less dangerous) additives. I also found these additives in the Osem cakes and various soft drinks. Everyone I mention this to says that the amounts of these additives are so small that they are not harmful. But how can this be when almost everything you eat contains them, and if you feed them to your kids from a young age, can’t this contribute to illnesses in the future? Someone just said that she read that E330 has been erroneously listed as cancercausing, because of a misinterpretation of a German word or name of the scientist.
If this is correct, then all the listings I have seen are incorrect.
– B.K., JerusalemHealth Ministry spokeswoman Einav Shimron replies:Food additives approved for use in Israel according to government regulations are safe for use according to the best information available today. Safety of use of food additives is checked both in Israel and on an international level including by the World Health Organization by committees of experts. E330 (citric acid) whose safety has been established, is permitted for use in many advanced countries, including the US and EU countries as well as Israel. The ministry’s website has information at www.health.gov.il/ pages/default.asp?maincat=51&cati d=324&pageid=2831, with a listing of dangerous food colors and additives. A list of permitted food additives is also there at www.health.gov.il/Download/pages/fcs_ nov2010.pdf.pdf.Judy Siegel-Itzkovich comments: Not everyone agrees that the Health Ministry listings of permitted artificial colors contain only safe ones. The use of tartrazine (E102), which produces a strong yellow color, has been used legally for many years in Israel, but it is banned in Norway. It was also banned in Austria and Germany until the ban was overturned by a European Union directive. The United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency in April 2008 called for a voluntary phase-out of tartrazine, along with five other colorings, due to a reported link with hyperactivity in children. Manufacturers of some organic foods use natural beta carotene as an additive when a yellow color is desired.An increasing number of Israelis prefer less-garish-looking products with natural colors, or none at all, to those with added chemicals. Decades ago, all soup noodles were colored bright yellow with tartrazine to give the impression that they contained eggs, when they had none at all. Today, they are not so colored anymore because consumers objected.Rx for Readers welcomes queries from readers about medical problems. Experts will answer those we find most interesting.Write Rx for Readers, The Jerusalem Post, POB 81, Jerusalem 91000, fax your question to Judy Siegel-Itzkovich at (02) 538- 9527, or e-mail it to jsiegel@jpost.com, giving your initials, age and place of residence.