Smarties along with other Nestle brands will no longer contain any additives |
Nestlé has
become the first major confectioner to remove artificial colours, flavours and
preservatives from its entire range.
The
company, which is behind leading brands including KitKat, Smarties and Quality
Street, has changed the recipe of 79 products to remove suspect chemicals.
Nestlé’s
Crunch bar is the last of the company’s products to have the chemicals removed
as part of a programme that dates back six years.
In total,
more than 80 ingredients have been replaced with alternatives, mostly from
natural sources such as carrot, hibiscus, radish, safflower and lemon.
Other
companies are also racing to drop artificial additives from products,
particularly those targeted at children. The moves follow a Daily Mail campaign
and research by British academics linking some artificial colours to harm,
including hyperactivity, in children.
The Daily
Mail first highlighted the use of suspect colours in products such as Smarties
in 2005. It launched the ‘Ban the Additives’ campaign in 2007 following
research which found that normal healthy children became hyperactive when fed a
cocktail of additives commonly used in sweets, cakes, fizzy drinks and some
medicines.
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The colours
involved were tartrazine (E102); quinoline yellow (E104); sunset yellow (E110);
carmoisine (E122); ponceau 4R (E124); and allura red (E129).
Subsequently,
the Food Standards Agency announced a voluntary code calling on all food
manufacturers to stop using these chemicals.
However
Nestlé has gone further and removed all
artificial additives from its range. The changes meant that blue Smarties
disappeared for a time until a natural colouring could be found.
Smarties chocolates are amongst Nestle's most popular products |
The
managing director of Nestlé Confectionery UK, David Rennie, said: ‘This is a
significant milestone. Nestlé is proud to be the only major confectionery
company in the UK to announce it is 100 per cent free of artificial
preservatives, flavours or colours across the entire portfolio.
‘To achieve
this, Nestlé Confectionery and our suppliers have worked very hard ensuring we
don’t compromise and we maintain the same quality and taste of all our brands.’
The firm’s
research found that three quarters (74 per cent) of consumers buying confectionery
now look for natural products, which includes the need to be free from
artificial colours, flavours and preservatives.
Sally
Bunday of the Hyperactive Children Support Group, which has warned against the
use of artificial additives for 35 years, welcomed the Nestlé announcement.
She said:
‘There is more than enough evidence to show that these artificial colours have
an adverse effect on the well-being and behaviour of the children.
‘We are
delighted to learn of the decision taken by Nestlé to stop using all artificial
additives. I am sure many other companies will also decide to stop using
questionable additives.’
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