With national food allergy awareness week starting in Australia on
May 17, consumers will have a growing focus on what additives are included in our
food.
Eggs are often cited as a source of allergic reactions – but it may
not be eggs which are the problem.
Colouring
additives in poultry feed
All
major egg producers and many small ones, even those which claim to be
free range and organic
-
use colouring additives in the feed they give their hens.
Their
use is completely unnecessary in a free range flock, as hens running
on quality pasture and at
low
stocking densities will obtain enough carotenoids from the green feed
in the paddock to
maintain
good yolk colour. The colour will vary – depending on the time of
year and what each hen
has
been eating – but many egg producers want to con consumers by using
additives to provide
consistent,
bright yolk colour.
Many
of those additives are synthetic-adding to the chemical cocktail mix
in food. But even those
which
are claimed to be 'natural' are manufactured in factories – often
in China. What the
manufacturers
mean by using the word 'natural' is that the additives may be derived
from natural
products
but are processed and concentrated into a powder or liquid.
Three
of the most widely used egg yolk pigmenters are:
Canthaxanin
or Canthaxanthin which
appears to be an unsafe additive. It can cause diarrhoea,
nausea,
stomach cramps, dry and itchy skin, hives, orange or red body
secretions, and other side
effects.
Do
not use canthaxanthin if you experience breathing problems; tightness
in the chest; swelling of
the
mouth, tongue or throat; a skin rash or hives; you are pregnant or
breast-feeding or you are
allergic
to vitamin A or carotenoids.
Capsicum
Allergic
reactions to capsicum may occur. Stop eating eggs with capsicum-based
colouring and seek
emergency
medical attention if you experience symptoms of a serious allergic
reaction including
difficulty
breathing; closing of the throat; swelling of the lips, tongue, or
face; or hives.
Other
less serious side effects have also been reported. Talk to your
doctor, pharmacist, or health
care
provider if you experience upset stomach; heartburn; diarrhoea;
migraine attacks or burning
sensation
in the mouth or throat.
Use
of Capsicum is not recommended if you are pregnant. If you are or
will be breast-feeding while
eating
food containing Capsicum, check with your doctor or pharmacist to
discuss the risks to your
baby.
Capsicum
colourings can bring on anaphylactic
shock.
See details about which plants generate
these
problems on this site at the University of Maryland:
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/anaphylaxis-000008.htm
Marigold
Some
people experience breathing problems, tightness in the chest,
swelling of the mouth, tongue
or
throat. A skin rash or hives may occur.
From
the Auckland Allergy Clinic
Article
written: September 2001
Salicylate
sensitivity is the body’s inability to handle more than a certain
amount of salicylates
at
any one time. A salicylate sensitive person may have difficulty
tolerating certain fruits or
vegetables.
What
are salicylates?
Salicylate
is a natural chemical made by many plants. It is chemically related
to aspirin, which
is
a derivative of salicylic acid. It is believed the plant uses it as
protection from insects, and
they
are everywhere around us.
Although
natural salicylates are found in wholesome foods, some individuals
have difficulty
tolerating
even small amounts of them. The reaction to a natural salicylate can
be as severe as
that
to a synthetic additive if the person is highly sensitive. Some
people are troubled by only
a
very few, but some are troubled by all of them.
What
is salicylate sensitivity?
Some
adults and children have a low level of tolerance to salicylates and
may get symptoms
that
are dose-related. The tolerated amount varies from one person to
another. This is an
example
of food intolerance.
What
are some of the symptoms of Salicylate Intolerance?
• Chronic
Urticaria & Angioedema
• Trigger
for Eczema
• Asthma
• Nasal
Polyps
• Sinusitis
• Rhino
conjunctivitis
• Stomach
aches and upsets
Foods
containing Salicylates
Salicylates
occur naturally in many fruits, and vegetables as a preservative, to
prevent rotting
and
protect against harmful bacteria and fungi. They are stored in the
bark, leaves, roots, and
seeds
of plants. Salicylates are found naturally in many foods and its
compounds are used in
many
products.
All
fresh meat, fish, shellfish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, cereals,
bread are naturally low in
salicylates
Foods
with very high Salicylate content include:
Vegetables:
Capsicum
Hot Peppers
Capsaicin
is the active component of Capsicum. Pure capsaicin is a volatile,
hydrophobic,
colourless,
odourless, crystalline to waxy compound.
Capsaicin
Factsheet
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/Capsaicintech.pdf
A
UK report on The
Adverse Effects of Food Additives on Health, published
in the Journal of
Orthomolecular
Medicine described surveys on food intolerance which showed that as
many as 2 in
10
people believe that they react badly to certain foods or to their
constituents, whereas less than 2
in
every 100 has been considered to be the official figure.
However,
a recently published report indicates that small children are much
more likely to react to
certain
foods. Although the exact numbers are not known, surveys suggest that
one child in 10 may
be
affected in some way
Of
the nearly 4000 different additives currently in use, over 3640 are
used purely for cosmetic
reasons
and as colouring agents.
The
continued reason for the use of additives is based on the argument
that they are present in foods
on
such a minute scale that they must be harmless.
This
argument may be almost acceptable regarding additives with a
reversible toxicological action.
However,
with additives which have been found to be both mutagenic and
carcinogenic, neither the
human
nor animal body is able to detoxify. Therefore even very minute doses
of these additives,
when
consumed continuously, will eventually result in an irreversible
toxic burden, resulting finally
in
cancer formation and/or in chromosomal and foetal damage. This is
unacceptable, particularly as
the
majority of these dangerous agents belong to the food colouring
group.
The
full report is available here:
http://www.orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1994/articles/1994-v09n04-p225.shtml
An
allergy is a hypersensitity disorder of the immune system. Allergic
reactions occur when a
person's
immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the
environment. A substance
that
causes a reaction is called an allergen. These reactions are
acquired, predictable, and rapid.
Allergy
is one of four forms of hypersensitivity and is formally called type
1 hypersensitivity.
Allergic
reactions are distinctive because of excessive activation of certain
white blood cells.
Mild
allergies like hay fever are very common in humans but allergies can
play a major role in
conditions
such as asthma. In some people, severe allergies to environmental or
dietary allergens
may
result in life-threatening reactions called anaphylaxis.
From
a Food Additive Guide
http://mbm.net.au/health/100-181.htm
E160(c)
Paprika
extract,
capsanthin,
capsorubin
Capsanthin,
found in paprika extract, is a red to orange coloured spice
derived
from the pods and seeds of the red pepper (Capsicum annuum).
Contains
vitamins A, B, C and traces of Zn, Cu, Se, Co, Mo, etc. Paprika
extract
also contains capsanthin. Capsanthin may be added to poultry feed to
enhance
egg yolk colour.
Typical
products include eggs, meat products.
Not
listed in Australia. Avoid it.
