Artificial additives linked to hyperactivity

Cadbury and Mars to ban artificial food additives
Cadbury and Mars have promised to remove artificial additives from a range of their sweets following a study last week that confirmed a link with hyperactivity in children.

Mars brands which currently use one or more of the suspect additives include Starburst, Skittles and peanut and plain M&Ms. The confectionery giant has committed to removing E104 from M&Ms and all artificial colours from Starburst and Skittles by the end of this year.

Cadbury sweets containing the additives include Maynards wine gums, Bassett Murray Mints, Barratt Flumps and varieties of its Trident chewing gum. A spokesman from Cadbury said that the company had already begun a programme to replace artificial additives in its biggest brands such as Bassett's Liquorice Allsorts and Jelly Babies but has now extended that to all other sweet brands before the end of 2008.

The moves will increase pressure on the Food Standards Agency to support a total ban on the additives.

Prince Charles joined in the debate yesterday at the launch of the Year of Food and Farming, when he warned that a generation of "over-industrialised" children may be poisoning themselves with food additives.

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