Soda Manufacturers Attempt to Downplay Sodium Benzoate Link to Hyperactivity

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NewsTarget.com printable article
Originally published January 4 2008
Soda Manufacturers Attempt to Downplay Sodium Benzoate Link to Hyperactivity
by David Gutierrez

(NewsTarget) In response to a recent study that linked common soft drink
additive sodium benzoate to increased hyperactivity in children, the British
Soft Drink Association downplayed the significance of the new findings.

"It should be noted that this study used a mixture of ingredients in each
trial and due to the nature of the research, the effect of individual colors
on the behavior of children surveyed could not be determined," the
association said.

In a study commissioned by the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency (FSA)
and conducted by researchers from the University of Southampton, children
were fed a fruit drink spiked with a mixture of common food colorings and
preservatives. Both of the mixtures were found to increase hyperactivity,
and both contained sodium benzoate.

Because the effects of the two mixtures were different, the exact
contribution of sodium benzoate to the hyperactivity could not be
determined. Consumer health advocate Mike Adams, author of The Five Soft
Drink Monsters (a guide for quitting the soft drink habit), responded by
saying, "This is like saying that since the health hazard cannot be assigned
to any one particular chemical, all the chemicals must therefore be safe.
The soft drink industry claiming that these chemical additives do not harm
health is like Big Tobacco claiming cigarette smoke doesn't cause lung
cancer," Adams said.

While the beverage industry said that consumers need have no cause for
alarm, the FSA issued as statement advising parents that there might be
"some beneficial effects on [the] the behavior" of hyperactive children to
cutting artificial colorings and preservatives from their diets.

The new study is only the most recent controversy over sodium benzoate, has
been shown to break down into the carcinogen benzene in the presence of
common soda ingredients citric and ascorbic acid. In response to concern
over the presence of benzene in sodas, many beverage manufacturers have
begun reformulating their products to reduce benzene formation.

Sodium benzoate is a common preservative in soft drinks because it
suppresses the growth of bacteria and fungi under the acidic conditions
found in carbonated beverages.

The University of Southampton study has been forwarded to the European Food
Safety Authority, which is conducting a review of all the additives
currently used in the European Union.