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The Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority (CAFIA) has recently recorded a growing number of inquiries regarding leaflet that warns against supposedly carcinogenic food additives, E-additives. Leaflet that is distributed mainly via electronic mail, but also in written form, contains information that is not based on truth and can be considered as scaremongering.

The leaflet contains meaningless and misleading misinformation that has no expert-based foundation. Although its author is said to be the Pediatric Oncology Clinic of the University of Düsseldorf, its author is in fact unknown and the Clinic does not recognize the leaflet.

The text says, for example, that the most dangerous and even carcinogenic food additive is E330. In fact, E330 is citric acid that is commonly present in food (particularly in fruit and vegetables) to which it is added to adjust its acidity and enhance its flavour. Supposed connection with cancer apparently resulted from ignorance. The author probably linked information that this acid in live organisms enters the Krebs cycle with German word for cancer – krebs. This connection is, however, total nonsense and gives evidence of author’s incompetence.

The same applies to most of other E-additives that are referred to as dangerous in the leaflet. In fact, the use of additives in food is strictly regulated and controlled in the European Union. Approval of each food additive is subject to complex approval process that includes extensive tests and studies aimed at safety of these additives. Limits have been set for these additives and their use is usually limited to only certain group of food so that they are not used where it is not necessary. Moreover, a number of these additives is of natural origin, is commonly present in food and it is not produced chemically.

According to the experience of CAFIA experts, leaflet with identical text has been circulating for several years in the Czech Republic. It always comes up from somewhere, causing unjustified concerns in consumers´ minds, and then it disappears. Unfortunately, this misleading information appears in many texts published on the Internet. It is, however, only one of “the most favourite” hoaxes the dissemination of which could be considered as scaremongering.

Assessment of risks associated with the use of food additives is carried out by the Ministry of Health, while their use is supervised by the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority and the State Veterinary Administration.

More information can be found at http://www.szpi.gov.cz.