School canteens invaded by dangerous food colourings

Commenting on a story on page 5 of toady's Sydney Morning Herald ("Diet experts go cold on icy treat"), Dr Kaye said: "The last place you would want to see these food dyes is in schools.

"These slushies are sold to the students with no labelling and no warnings.

"The canteens are not at fault. There is no way they can be expected to hunt round for the ingredients list and remember which of the numbers corresponds to a dangerous dye.

"The problem lies with the nation's food ministers who have failed to enforce warnings on all products containing these dyes.

"NSW Food Minister Ian Macdonald defends his inaction by claiming that the presence of these colourings is identified on the back-of-package contents list.

"Yet kids buying these slushies could not possibly know that their treat was about to make them act up.

"The Ministerial Food Regulatory Council met last month and yet again allowed food bureaucrats to snow it on this issue. It is the one body that could at least demand warning labels but it continues to sit on its hands.

"The Whitty's brand is aggressively pushing their slushies into schools, claiming they are a 'healthy treat' and that they contain 'no artificial flavours, no added sugar, no fat, low GI, 99% fruit juice'.

"The manufacturer omits to say that each of their product contains one of the six bright, artificial food colourings that have been proven to contribute to hyperactivity disorder in children.

"The evidence is clear. Peer-reviewed scientific studies have demonstrated the connection between these artificial dyes and behavioural problems.

"Providing them to school children is a recipe for damaging educational outcomes and compromising young people's health," Dr Kaye said.

For more information:    John Kaye 0407 195 455

Further reading:

• Read John’s comments in the Sydney Morning Herald article:

Greens MP John Kaye said it was time for a thorough audit of canteen product registration lists. "All products containing these dangerous dyes should be thrown off the registered list," Dr Kaye said. "The NSW School Canteen Association needs to act quickly to clean up this mess by demanding that all manufacturers on their registration list reveal their product contents."  

• Read the article from ABC News here:

Greens MP John Kaye says the Canteen Association has also approved a chocolate muffin and a different slush drink, which contain the same food colourings as the original slushie.

"The whole canteen registration and food regulation in Australia has failed in its obligation to protect children," he said.

He says all products containing the additives should be banned from school canteens.

"We're calling for the NSW Canteen Association to investigate all the products on their list, to insist that all the manufacturers of all of the products on their list put the full content list on their websites and those that contain these bright artificial colourings are banned from school canteens," he said. 

• Also appearing in the Sydney Morning Herald:

The NSW Greens MP Dr John Kaye said canteen associations were not to blame.

Along with the Greens, the lobby group has accused the Federal Government of neglecting its duty to protect children's health by not proposing a similar ban. "These slushies are sold to the students with no labelling and no warnings. The problem lies with the nation's food ministers who have failed to enforce warnings on all products containing these dyes."