We checked every additive
on a UK label.
Half carry a health concern.
We read the research on all 466 food additives permitted in UK food. 239 of them, near enough half, have published evidence of a health effect worth knowing about. And it is nowhere near evenly spread. Some categories are almost all flagged. Others barely at all.
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Half of them
carry a concern.
Across all 466 additives, 239 carry a flagged health concern in our database, 51%. But group them by the job they do and the picture splits hard. The additives that keep food looking and lasting unnaturally are the most flagged. The functional, behind-the-scenes ones barely register.
Source: NutraSafe additive database, 466 additives permitted in UK food, each assessed against EFSA opinions, FSA positions, IARC monographs and SACN reports. "Carries a concern" is our classification, explained in section 04.
The active jobs
carry the research.
The pattern is not random. The more an additive has to act on the food, or on the microbes in it, the more research tends to follow.
The most flagged
- Preservatives, 92%Built to stop microbes growing, so biologically active by design. The group holds the nitrites and sulphites that carry the most published research.
- Sweeteners, 81%The category where the science is least settled. Several have ongoing EFSA reviews and contested intake studies.
- Colours, 79%Includes the six the FSA makes carry a children's-behaviour warning, plus dyes with a long research trail.
The least flagged
- Acidity regulators, 14%Mostly citric acid (E330) and bicarbonates that adjust sharpness. Little flagged research at normal intake.
- Thickeners & emulsifiers, 43%A big mixed group. Some, like the emulsifiers carrageenan and polysorbates, carry gut research; many plant gums do not.
- Antioxidants, 52%Spans vitamin C (E300) with no flag and the synthetic BHA and BHT, which do.
Three you can
name on sight.
Most flagged additives carry a concern that only matters in quantity. A few are concrete enough that a UK regulator has already acted. These are the ones to recognise on a label.
The Southampton Six
E102, E104, E110, E122, E124, E129. UK products containing any of these colours must carry the warning, "May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children." The wording is FSA-required, not ours.
Nitrites in cured meat
E249 to E252, used to cure bacon and ham. The WHO's IARC classes processed meat as Group 1: it causes bowel cancer. The NHS, on SACN advice, caps processed meat at 70g a day.
E171, titanium dioxide
A white colour, banned in UK and EU food since 7 August 2022 after EFSA could not rule out a genotoxic effect. You should not see it on a UK food label sold since.
What "carries
a concern" means.
We were strict about this, because the number only means something if the line is clear.
What we did
- 466 additivesEvery additive with an E-number permitted in UK food.
- Four sourcesEFSA opinions, FSA positions, IARC monographs, SACN reports.
- One testIs there published evidence of a health effect worth knowing about at realistic intake? If yes, it carries a concern.
What it is not
- Not a banA flag is not a regulator ruling that the additive is unsafe to use.
- Not a verdict on a foodOne flagged additive is not a reason to put a product back on the shelf.
- It is our classificationSourced to the regulators above, but the line we draw, stated plainly so you can check it.
You do not have
to memorise 466.
The takeaway is short. The additives most likely to carry a flagged concern are the preservatives, sweeteners and colours. Scan a UK barcode and NutraSafe names every additive on the pack, what it is, and what the research says, so you do not have to hold the list in your head.
The common
questions.
Of the 466 additives permitted in UK food, 239 carry a flagged health concern in our database, about half. The figure is uneven by category: it runs from 92% of preservatives down to 14% of acidity regulators.
Preservatives. 44 of the 48 we assessed, 92%, carry a flagged concern. They are designed to stop microbes growing, so they are biologically active by design, and the group includes the nitrites and sulphites with the most published research.
Acidity regulators, at 14%. Only 6 of the 43 carry a flagged concern. The group is mostly things like citric acid (E330) and sodium bicarbonate that adjust how sharp or alkaline a food is.
No. It means there is published evidence of a health effect worth knowing about, drawn from EFSA, the FSA, IARC and SACN. It is not a regulator ruling that the additive should be banned, and on its own it is not a reason to avoid a food. Whether it matters depends on how much of that food you actually eat.
Yes. E171 (titanium dioxide) has been banned in UK and EU food since 7 August 2022. You should not see it on a UK food label sold after that date, though it is still used in some non-food products.
Six colours, the Southampton Six: E102 tartrazine, E104 quinoline yellow, E110 sunset yellow, E122 carmoisine, E124 ponceau 4R, E129 allura red. UK products containing any of them must carry the warning, "May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children." The wording is FSA-required.
See the additives on
any UK label.
Scan any UK barcode and we name every additive on the pack, what it is and what the research says. Free download. Pro £3.99/month or £34.99/year for the full per-ingredient detail, vitamins, workouts and the AI Coach.
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