Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you. I appreciate that there is concern in the community amongst a range of people about food colourings. I can advise the Senate that FSANZ has assessed the study referred to in the motion and has concluded that this study provides some evidence of a weak and limited effect on children’s behaviour of the food colour mixtures used. The results of the study do not provide a credible basis for public health concern and certainly do not provide the necessary scientific evidence to amend the existing permissions in the Food Standards Code.

FSANZ has concluded that the results were not consistent with respect to age and gender of the children, the effects of the two mixtures of additives tested and the type of observer. The data provides no information on dose response. The effect size was small and of unknown clinical or practical relevance. The study design uses mixtures of colours combined with preservatives and it is not possible to identify the effects of the individual additives. Further, there is no known plausible biological mechanism that might explain the possible link between the consumption of colours and behaviour.

FSANZ’s conclusions are consistent with separate and independent reviews conducted by the United Kingdom committee on toxicity and the European Food Safety Authority. Neither the UK Food Standards Agency nor the European Food Safety Authority has proposed to ban the colours used in this study and neither agency has concluded that the study provides a credible basis for such action.

In the context of Australian and New Zealand dietary intakes, the Southampton study did not test a real dietary exposure scenario that is relevant to Australia and New Zealand as the drinks given to the children contained food colours at a concentration based on maximum permitted levels in food rather than actual manufacturing levels. The combinations—