Effect of Additives on Children
On 1st January, The Independent reported a story concerning the alleged number of artificial additives and E-numbers found in McDonald's menu items, following an independent study by the newspaper. The piece also refers to research carried out at Southampton University linking certain additives to behavioral problems in children.
Response from Charlotte Turner, Company Nutritionist, McDonald's UK
"We take children's wellbeing and the quality of our food very seriously and are fully aware of parents' concerns about the use of additives and preservatives in food and drink. McDonald's has been working on the removal of artificial colours and flavours for some time and in 2000 we removed E211 from many of our sauces and both E122 and E124 were removed from strawberry milkshakes more than three years ago. Our policy is also not to use any artificial colours or benzoates in new products.
"An extremely low level of E211 is used in McDonald's dill pickles in our burgers and trials are currently underway on removing this. E211 is also found in carbonated drinks.
"We are always open about the ingredients in our food, with a full ingredients list for all menu items available on our website.
"It is also important to be aware that not all E numbers or additives are artificial - for example, McDonald's uses both E160 beetroot juice and E160c paprika extract, both of which are natural."
