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EU plans warning labels on artificial colours

London: Food and drinks containing any of six artificial colourings that may be linked to hyperactive behaviour in children will have to carry warnings, under a proposed EU deal. The requirement would apply to imports as well as those made in the EU.

Hundreds of products containing the colourings will disappear from shops over the next year following the U.K. Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) call for a voluntary ban on their use in all food products.

The agency wants British Ministers to push for the colourings to be removed across Europe, believing a study from Southampton University showed a “direction of travel” between them and children’s behaviour, despite the lack of evidence of a biological causal mechanism. EU safety advisers have begun a review of recommended daily intakes of additives.

The labelling will be required to warn consumers that products “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.” — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008

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