The government's Food Standards Agency today comes under fresh attack from two leading academics who have joined forces to urge the watchdog to act "more firmly and responsibly" on behalf of consumers over the dangers of chemical food additives.
On the eve of a crucial FSA meeting tomorrow, they have written to its 13 board members expressing concern that the watchdog is not being proactive enough on an important scientific issue which has ramifications for public health.
The letter (a version of which is published in today's Guardian) is from Professor Erik Millstone, professor of science policy at the University of Sussex, and Professor Tim Lang, of the centre for food policy at the City University, London. In it they set out a nine-point plan of tougher, follow-up action for board members to consider before the meeting. A copy of the letter was handed personally to Dame Deirdre Hutton, chair of the FSA, at the Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton yesterday.
Their intervention comes amid growing criticism of the FSA for acting in the interests of the food industry rather than consumers over the issue of additives.
Two weeks ago it published research by the University of Southampton which for the first time conclusively confirmed a link between specific additives and hyperactive behaviour in young children.
The FSA issued revised guidance to consumers, recommending that parents steer clear of products containing certain E-numbers if their children were showing signs of hyperactivity or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. But health campaigners said the government had missed a chance to ban the additives.
Professors Millstone and Lang say they understand why further advice is being sought by the FSA from the European Food Safety Authority in Parma, Italy, but still call for a tougher stance. They urge board members to consider taking a number of steps in response to the findings, which, significantly, include recommending widening the FSA's advice on the named food colourings to apply to all children.
They are asked to consider sending delegations to the European commission to argue for the need for restrictions in the use of synthetic colours, especially in foods and drinks marketed for babies, children and adolescents, and to ask the Department of Health and the Committee on the Safety of Medicines to review the use of mixtures of food additives including synthetic colours in prescription and over-the-counter medicinal products.
They are also asked to initiate a review of food additive labelling for products sold in catering outlets and to invite the School Foods Trust to review its guidelines on food additives and synthetic colours in food and drinks sold in schools and served in school meals.
The two academics say: "We believe that there is ample scope for the board to act more firmly than is currently apparent ... We urge the FSA to be more proactive than has so far been the case. For the FSA not to act more firmly and pro the consumer would be to risk the FSA's reputation quite unnecessarily."
Last night Prof Millstone told the Guardian: "The FSA's recent statement on hyperactivity and food additives seriously undermines the credibility of the FSA in the eyes of consumers, their representatives and the media. The board now has an opportunity to redeem the agency."
New research out today from the Mintel Global New Products Database found that this year one in four (24%) new food and drink products in the UK claimed to be "additive- and preservative-free" (up from 8% in 2004). The number of "additive- and preservative-free" products launched in the UK doubled between 2004 and 2006, from 400 to just over 800.
