ADDITIVE 320 - peanut butter....I've been doing some research on additives

[Mad Scientist]

Mods, please move if not in the right spot.

Hi all,

Just wondering how many people knew that Kraft Peanut Butter contains Food Additive 320? I did some research on all the numbers that are often found on the packets of food we buy and I'm shocked at some of the things that are allowed to be in our food. Food Additive 320, or Butylated hydroxy-anisole (BHA), has been banned from use in foods for infants and young children but is still used in Kraft peanut butter, which many young children eat! It can provoke an allergic reaction in some people, may trigger hyperactivity and other intolerances. There are serious concerns over carcinogenicity and estrogenic effects. In large doses it has caused tumours in lab animals. It was banned in Japan in 1958. McDonald's eliminated it from their US products by 1986. I've just bought a new jar of the smooth peanut butter and I will be returning it to the store for a refund. I also have a jar of the Aldi peanut butter and it uses the safer additive 306, so I'll be buying that one from now on. I've contacted Kraft to ask for an explanation as to why they use the dangerous additive instead of safer alternatives. I'm not a paranoid mother when it comes to what my children eat. I just try to give them as healthy as possible and don't often look at ingredients, but after hearing about many behaviours being due to some additives, I had a quick look through my cupboard just out of curiosity. I wanted to know what number MSG was too, so I could avoid that completely, seeing as I get headaches from it. It really freaked me out. But luckily a lot of the food we have doesn't contain many additives and if they do, they are the safer kind. Anyway, the reason for me posting this thread is to find out if any other people knew about this and did you contact Kraft at all? I have never contacted a company before about this type of thing but I was so annoyed, I had to do something!

PS Check if your kids' multivitamins have artificial sweeteners in them. They are scary things too!

[CrazyLady]

Ewwwwwwwwww! I read EVERYTHING i buy for DD now. Something in most breads makes her hyper and grumpy at the same time. She can only eat brumby's bread now.

Thanks for the heads up on peanut butter. I will look out for it when I try her on nuts!

[Trillian]

I buy either d-ick smith or sanitarium peanut butter and they don't have any additives at all - just peanuts, salt, sugar and vegetable oil - but it is possible that the additives aren't listed under the 5% loophole which states that if the ingredient makes up less than 5% of the product it doesn't have to be listed

[Salad]

NikW - it is truly amazing isnt it, I have been researching recently also additives in food, did you know 250 is also banned in baby and infant food but its on/added to bacon which I am sure many of us let our kids eat.

I am really struggling with healthy snacks to take in the nappy bag for DD, she cant have grapes anymore so I dont take sultanas either. Food in the failsafe/fedup books feel like would be giving her sugary stuff or bread/biscuits all the time. If anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them.

[*EJ*]

I too read a book that said this and haven't bought Kraft peanut butter since. Infact DS1 who is 3 has never had peanut butter. I have bought the 'health food aisle' option but it's either really dry or really oily. I may give the d-ick smith or sanitarium ones a go!?

[Trillian]

I decided I would email Sanitarium and ask them if it does contain it or not. I hope they are able to tell me.

Myboys, I defnitely prefer those brands and can't stand kraft peanut butter anymore.

[mrsmac]

DS has a huge problem with 320- he goes off his face and screams for ages a few hours after eating even the tiniest bit.
You have no idea how prevalent it is in our foods, here's my list so far!

McDonalds fries! (yep, he went off after he had them so i looked up their ingredients online)
No name tiny teddies- real ones are OK
Most Aldi biscuits eg scotch finger type etc.
All Green's and WhiteWings cupcake packet mixes.
Most 2 minute noodles (this is just the noodles not even using the flavour sachet)
Many garlic breads in the fridge section of supermarket.
Fresh pizza bases in supermarket
Butter blends (the spreadable butter mixes)

[CrazyLady]

Charlotte flogged a piece of my pie crust the other day and went really nuts. didn't go to bed until 9:30pm and was HYPER! Her usual bed time is 6:30 so 3 hours extra is horrid. Grumpy baby the next day!

[Alan]

Have you considered making your own peanut butter?
All you need is 2 cups of roasted peanuts and about 1 tblsp of peanut oil. You may need a little more depending upon how much oil the peanuts have.
Put it all in a blender and blitz until smooth. If you prefer crunchy keep about ½ of the peanuts back blitz the rest until smooth then add the ½ and blitz again until it is the consistency you prefer. Salt can be added to suit your taste.

[Matryoshka]

I noticed significant effects when i followed Failsafe strictly, had to take a list to the shops of 30+ numbers to avoid. I did this to treat my PND because a lot of the numbers have negative effects on mood, not only in adults but linked to adhd etc. For instance, anything with "yellow" in it (160b - annatto, see 1st link) made my boys hyperactive and irritable. It is in banana, apricot yoghurts and tonnes of other processed foods.

I hope its okay to post these links, the info is invaluable:

Factannatto

Food Intolerance Network FACTSHEETS

ADDITIVE ALERT

Romsey Australia: Food Additives Codes

http://greatmysterypublishing.com/in...LabelsMean.htm

[mrsmac]

Charlotte flogged a piece of my pie crust the other day and went really nuts. didn't go to bed until 9:30pm and was HYPER! Her usual bed time is 6:30 so 3 hours extra is horrid. Grumpy baby the next day!

It more than likely had 320 in it. Its amazing how much stuff does have it in despite it being banned in children's foods.

[*EJ*]

Matryoshka, Additive Alert is the book that i bought and read. It also gave you a little bookmark with some numbers to really be careful of and i have that at close hand all the time.

Alan your recipe sounds so easy to make i'll have to give it a go

[Mad Scientist]

Wow thanks so much for that info.

Alan, that recipe sounds so easy! Will give it a go.

Myboys - that bookmark would come in handy! where did you get the book from?

I found it quite depressing how much food does have dangerous additives in it and how difficult it is to avoid them. Even fresh fruit!!!!!!!!!!!!! Agh. I guess all you can do is try to avoid them......

[*EJ*]

NikiW i find it soooo overwhelming, it's like trying to fight a battle you just can't win. I'm pretty sure i got the book from my local Big W it was quite cheap too. The book and bookmark is on loan to a friend right now but when i get it back i can copy the bookmark and send it to you. The book is definaltey worth the buy though, it lists all the additives and their effects. THe bookmark is just a short list.

[mrsmac]

I just printed off the handy purse sized list from the Failsafe website.

Just checked some of the things in my show bags from the Easter Show- got a acrrot loaf packet mix (sounds healthy, advertied as healthy) it has 320 in it!!

[Mad Scientist]

Oh thanks myboys. I'll have a look at BigW. Thanks for the offer. I'll let you know if I can't find the book and take you up on the photocopy. I appreciate that.

mrsmac - They are everywhere aren't they!? I was eating a Go Natural apricot bar yesterday and it has sulphur dioxide in it. Not very natural huh? Some names and marketing are so misleading. I'll have a look on the failsafe website too.

I got a phone call from a Kraft rep this morning. She said they are looking into replacing 320 but are at the initial stages. She said that she will pass my feedback onto the relevant departments. I think I just got fobbed off really. I'll believe it when I see it. I feel like telling Today Tonight!

[Cherished]

Thanks for the post Niki I checked the IGA peanut butter brand and it has a safer additive in it

[Peg]

i was hunting around and found an article on ninemsn about a particular nutritionist in australia.

Nutritionist Sue Dengate has been fighting the fight against the dangerous food additives for the past 15 years, now she's compiled her dirty dozen.
She says any of these additives can cause severe asthma, serious rashes, swelling of the lips and tongue, or behavioural problems such as ADHD.

* Food colourings: Tartrazine (102), sunset yellow (110), amaranth (123), erythrosine (127) and annatto extracts (160b).
* Preservatives: Sodium benzoate (e211), sulphur dioxide (220), calcium propionate (282).
* Antioxidant: Bha or buylated hydroxyanisole (320).
* Flavour enhancers: MSG or monosodium glutamate (621) and ribonucleotides (635) artificial sweetener aspartame(951)