 News
10th March 2007
Banned ingredients found in children's medicines
Popular over the counter medicines are packed with additives which are
banned from toddler and infant foods.
A study by the Food Commission watchdog found that all but one out of
41 medicines tested contained harmful additives prohibited in foods specifically
targeted at the under-threes.
No artificial colours or sweeteners are allowed in food and drinks for
the under-threes, and most preservatives are banned.
The Commission published the findings in The Food Magazine.
The study included popular paediatric cold remedies and pain relievers
including Bonjela teething gel, Nurofen for children, Calpol paracetemol,
and cough syrups manufactured by Beecham's, Benylin, Buttercup and Tixilyx.
Each contained harmful e-numbers which can have many side effects including
stomach upsets, diarrhoea, skin rashes and allergic reactions.
One- Meltus dry coughs syrup - even contained chloroform which has been
banned in food since 1980.
Ian Tokelove of The Food Magazine said, "Whilst many children will
be able to consume these products safety, there will be those who will
suffer allergic reactions to these additives.
"It is time for medicine manufacturers to clean up their act and remove
any unnecessary additives. We believe that colourings and artificial sweeteners
can be replaced with natural alternatives and the use of preservatives
should be rigorously questioned."
Among the chemicals found were four different azo dye colourings, which
are linked to allergies such as asthma. They were found in Anbesol teething
gel, Buttercup infant cough syrup, Calpol paracetamol, Sudafed children's
syrup and Superdrug children's chesty cough syrup.
The government drugs safety watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare products
Regulatory Agency, said, "The function and usefulness of all additives
in medicines must be justified by the manufacturer before they can get
a licence to market the particular medicine.
"The evaluation takes into account the quantity of additives, the frequency
with which the medicine will be used and the medical condition to be treated.
"Most medicines cannot be manufactured, stored and administered without
some additional formulation ingredients. Unnecessary additives are discouraged."
But Mr Tokelove said, "Contrary to the MHRA statement, our survey shows
that artificial additives are widely used when there is no technological
requirement for them to be there at all.
"For instance, it is quite possible to flavour medicines with natural
oils or extracts, and natural colourings such as beetroot and beta-carotene
can be used instead of azo dyes.
"Preservatives are highly-addictive compounds, designed to kill living
organisms. As such the use of preservatives needs to be tightly controlled.
"We noted that some medicines found in the survey contain no preservatives
at all, whilst similar products contain two or three."
The Proprietory Association of Great Britain, which represents the manufacturers
of over-the-counter medicines, said small amounts of artificial sweeteners
and flavouring had to be added to disguise the unpleasant taste of the
active ingredients - helping parents to get their children to take the
medicines they need.
Director of legal and regulatory affairs Helen Darracott added that natural
colourings and flavours were not very stable in liquids so could not be
used in medicines.
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