Food Additives

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced a potentially massive recall of salad dressing, chip dip, soup mixes and other foods made with a commonly used food additive that may be contaminated with salmonella. Among the products being taken off store shelves is a potato salad from an Oregon supplier, according to the Oregonian newspaper, that makes products distributed under the Safeway and Wal-Mart brands. Safeway Inc. said Thursday that it was removing its Red Potato Salad with Dill products from its Vons and Pavilions stores, as well as its self-named markets.

Maraschino cherries, Cheetos, Gatorade and Froot Loops. The rainbow of colors in candies and decorated birthday cakes. The colors of these foods are not from nature — and depending whom you talk to, they are harmless fun or making kids bounce off walls. Late last month, an advisory panel for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded there was enough evidence to say that foods containing artificial food dyes may trigger hyperactivity in a small percentage of children with behavioral problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Here are some commonly used food additives: Alpha tocopherol: Vitamin E. Prevents rancidity in vegetable oils. Annato: Food coloring. Ascorbic acid: Vitamin C. Prevents loss of color and flavor. Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT): Prevent rancidity in oils and in foods that contain oils. Carrageenan: Thickening agent in creamy foods. Casein: Thickens and whitens foods.

DuPont is buying Danish food additives maker Danisco A/S for $5.8 billion as it looks to beef up the products it offers to improve the taste and health benefits of food. The chemical giant wants to widen its reach as the world's population grows and demand for food increases. The deal also gives DuPont more exposure to alternative fuel markets, like ethanol, where Danisco products are also used. Danisco's compounds are used in a wide range of industries from bakery, dairy and beverages to animal feed, laundry detergents and bioethanol.

Proponents of natural foods have long suspected that artificial colorings and preservatives may be unhealthful. Now British researchers have found that the additives can drive hyperactive behavior in preschool children.

Gerber Products Co., the dominant maker of baby foods in America, will stop adding starch and sugar to most of its main products in an effort to grab a bigger chunk of the health-conscious-parents market. Gerber said the move, to be formally announced today, is unrelated to criticisms by a consumer advocacy group that the company diluted its baby foods with water, sugar and chemically modified starch and deceived the public about the foods' nutritional value.

Almost every parent has a story about their kid bouncing off the walls after downing a package of jelly beans or eating a neon blue-frosted cupcake at school. Most blame the sugar. But some new research suggests that the rainbow of artificial colors may have a bigger effect on children's behavior. And in other parts of the world, some organizations are starting to take action on these ingredients.

Stevia followers are a diverse bunch, including health nuts and food-industry magnates. The draw? The sweetener is all-natural and naturally calorie-free. But "natural" doesn't necessarily mean safe, and scientists have long struggled to make sense of early evidence hinting that stevia could be toxic. A series of studies published last month in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology put that question to the test for one type of stevia-based sweeteners. Stevia, a South American shrub, has leaves up to 300 times sweeter than table sugar.

U.S. health officials will test more food additives for melamine, a substance found in pet food linked to the deaths of at least 16 cats and dogs. Tests will be expanded to imports of six food additives, including soy protein, rice bran and corn gluten, Stephen Sundlof, director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said in a news conference. The FDA is already testing wheat gluten and rice protein for the substance.

Your Eating Smart column on Feb. 22, "No Single Food Cures or Prevents Disease," talked about arthritis and a dietary link. In my experience, it is not only foods that can cause or at least make arthritis worse, but food additives too. When I married, my new husband insisted that I use an additive that contained monosodium glutamate in all our food. It wasn't long until my mild aches became excruciating. After experiencing a severe reaction to arthritis medication and because my doctor didn't recommend any other medication, I began reading everything I could find on arthritis.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced a potentially massive recall of salad dressing, chip dip, soup mixes and other foods made with a commonly used food additive that may be contaminated with salmonella. Among the products being taken off store shelves is a potato salad from an Oregon supplier, according to the Oregonian newspaper, that makes products distributed under the Safeway and Wal-Mart brands. Safeway Inc. said Thursday that it was removing its Red Potato Salad with Dill products from its Vons and Pavilions stores, as well as its self-named markets.

Three years ago, U.S. Department of Agriculture employees determined that synthetic additives in organic baby formula violated federal standards and should be banned from products carrying the federal organic label. Today those same additives, purported to boost brainpower and vision, can be found in 90% of organic baby formula. The government's about-face came after a USDA program manager was lobbied by the formula makers and overruled her staff.

The Food and Drug Administration's conclusion that a controversial chemical is safe for use in food containers is badly flawed, an independent panel of scientific advisors said in a report released Tuesday. The chemical, known as bisphenol A, is used to make plastic for food packaging, baby bottles and other consumer and medical goods. Environmental groups want to ban BPA in products for infants because of concerns that it can interfere with their development.

If we've learned anything watching our 401(k)s go down the toilet and the stock market take a pistol-whipping, it's that too-lax regulation and the nowhere-to-hide nature of the global economy leave us vulnerable to all sorts of shenanigans. Need more proof? Three words: China. Food. Melamine. On Tuesday, the Chinese government ordered all liquid and powdered milk manufactured before Sept. 14 to be removed from store shelves for testing.

Almost every parent has a story about their kid bouncing off the walls after downing a package of jelly beans or eating a neon blue-frosted cupcake at school. Most blame the sugar. But some new research suggests that the rainbow of artificial colors may have a bigger effect on children's behavior. And in other parts of the world, some organizations are starting to take action on these ingredients.

Stevia followers are a diverse bunch, including health nuts and food-industry magnates. The draw? The sweetener is all-natural and naturally calorie-free. But "natural" doesn't necessarily mean safe, and scientists have long struggled to make sense of early evidence hinting that stevia could be toxic. A series of studies published last month in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology put that question to the test for one type of stevia-based sweeteners. Stevia, a South American shrub, has leaves up to 300 times sweeter than table sugar.

As the recall of tainted pet food mushroomed into an international scandal, two of the largest U.S. food manufacturers put out a blanket order to their American suppliers: No more ingredients from China. The directive from Mission Foods Corp. and Tyson Foods Inc., made quietly this month, underscored consumers' and manufacturers' fears about the safety of imported food ingredients after contaminated wheat products from China killed and sickened cats and dogs in the United States.

DuPont is buying Danish food additives maker Danisco A/S for $5.8 billion as it looks to beef up the products it offers to improve the taste and health benefits of food. The chemical giant wants to widen its reach as the world's population grows and demand for food increases. The deal also gives DuPont more exposure to alternative fuel markets, like ethanol, where Danisco products are also used. Danisco's compounds are used in a wide range of industries from bakery, dairy and beverages to animal feed, laundry detergents and bioethanol.

You can spot Dawn Wynne at the grocery store. She's one of those conscientious label readers busy studying cans, bottles and jars in aisle after aisle. But it's not calories, sodium or preservatives she is looking for. She is on patrol for high fructose corn syrup; it's an unadvertised part of sauces, cereal, candy and especially soda, and she wants none of it. The Redondo Beach resident looks for foods sweetened with "pure cane sugar, honey or fruit juice."

Best known for deciding whether medications are safe and effective, the Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to crack down on plain old salt, which doctors say is harmful in the quantities most Americans consume. At a hearing today, the agency will begin collecting expert testimony on the role excess salt in the diet plays in causing high blood pressure, heart disease and strokes.