EU body doubts food additives' impact on children

MILAN (Reuters) - The European Union's food safety watchdog said on Friday a scientific report found only limited evidence linking the use of certain food additives to hyperactivity in children.

In 2007, a group of UK's Southampton University researchers stirred public opinion with a study which suggested the use of certain food additives may cause child hyperactivity, based on tests of around 300 children.

But the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said it had concluded with the help of experts in behavior, child psychiatry, allergy and statistics that the study "provided limited evidence that the mixtures of additives tested had a small effect on the activity and attention of some children."

EFSA said in a statement the findings of the UK study could not be used as a basis for changing the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of the respective food colors or sodium benzoate.

The Parma-based agency cited "considerable uncertainties, such as the lack of consistency and relative weakness of the effect and the absence of information on the clinical significance of the behavioral changes observed" of the study.

EFSA said the findings from the UK study could be relevant for specific individuals sensitive to food additives in general or to food colors in particular, but is was "not possible at present to assess how widespread such sensitivity may be in the general population."

The additives analyzed by the UK researchers were Tartrazine (E102), Quinoline Yellow (E104), Sunset Yellow FCF (E110), Ponceau 4R (E124), Allura Red AC (E129), Carmoisine (E122) and sodium benzoate (E211).

EFSA said one of its scientific panels was re-evaluating the safety of all food colors authorised in the European Union on a case-by-case basis and the colors used in the study were included in its review.

(Reporting by Svetlana Kovalyova; editing by Chris Johnson)