News From Around The World.
8 February 2009News from the United Kingdom:
The governments National Health Service has called on doctors to refrain from giving the ADHD drug Ritalin to children under the age of 5.
Lat year another governmental authority, the Food Standards Agency (FSA), asked manufacturers to phase out the use of synthetic dyes. Then in December the FSA published a list of companies that have discarded the dyes shown to be linked to ADHD. Food manufacturers in the UK are on notice that if they do not voluntarily phase out the unwanted dyes, the government will impose legal restrictions.
One of the champions of healthy food for children is Prince Charles, who believes that poor behavior is linked to junk food and “over-industrialized children” who have no connection to nature and little understanding of where food comes from and how it is produced.
The 2007 Southampton study connecting food addictives and ADHD has resulted in a dramatic increase in public awareness, and the work of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has contributed to improved school foods for children. But the British public has recently learned that these improvements have not reached many of the nation’s pre-schoolers.
Some nurseries in England and Wales are serving foods that are now restricted or banned from schools, foods that are high sugar, salt, fat and additives. A survey of nursery schools show that the average amount spent on foods for each child is about 1 GBP (roughly $1.60 in US dollars). But a few were found to be spending a mere 25 pence per child for an entire day (about 40 cents).
News from Australia:
As prescriptions for ADHD drugs soared by more than 43% in a year, Australia’s government appointed a committee to draw up guidelines for the treatment of ADHD. Unfortunately, seven of the ten panel members have been found to have accepted money and various gifts from drug companies. The committee endorsed the use of the various drugs as a “first-line treatment” for children and warned parents not to use options like diet and exercise to address the symptoms. Committee members attempted to prevent the public from learning their identities.
As in the US, the governmental agency overseeing food in Australia and New Zealand has not been receptive to the growing public demand for the removal of petroleum-based dyes. But consumer pressure is being applied by Australia’s Additive Alert organization. The group’s Kids First Campaign, led by Julie Eady, has sponsored an on-line petition to their Health Ministers; more than 10,000 people have lent their support. (see Additive Alert)
A popular candy will now be made with natural colors, in place of synthetic dyes. Nestle Australia will be changing their Smarties candy (similar to M&M’s) despite the company’s long insistence that the dyes are safe.
The International Association for the Study of Obesity is calling for legal action to establish an international code that prohibits advertising junk food and soft drinks to children under the age of 16. The proposed regulations would cover both satellite and land-based TV. Sweden and Norway don’t allow advertising to children under 12, but satellite broadcasting can bypass national regulations.
Reprinted from Pure Facts, the newsletter of the Feingold Association of the United States, FEINGOLD
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