Walk down any supermarket aisle in the UK and you will find thousands of products containing food additives — from the colourings in sweets to the preservatives in sliced bread. But which foods actually contain the most? And should you be concerned? This guide takes a balanced, factual look at additives in UK foods, without fear-mongering but with practical advice for anyone wanting to make more informed choices.
Food additives are substances added to food during processing to perform specific functions. The FSA categorises them into several groups:
All additives used in the UK must be approved by the FSA and assessed for safety by the EFSA. Each has an E-number — the “E” stands for Europe, confirming it has passed EU/UK safety evaluation.
The following table ranks common UK food categories by the typical number of additives found per product. These figures are based on ingredient list analysis of popular UK supermarket products.
| Food Category | Avg. Additives per Product | Most Common Additives | Example Products |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soft drinks & energy drinks | 5–10 | Sweeteners, colours, acidity regulators, preservatives | Diet cola, energy drinks, squash |
| Sweets & confectionery | 5–12 | Colours, glazing agents, emulsifiers, flavourings | Gummy sweets, boiled sweets, chocolate bars |
| Ready meals | 8–15 | Emulsifiers, stabilisers, flavour enhancers, colours | Microwave meals, pot noodles, frozen pizzas |
| Processed meats | 5–10 | Nitrates/nitrites, phosphates, stabilisers, colours | Value sausages, ham slices, chicken nuggets |
| Cheap sliced bread | 6–10 | Emulsifiers, preservatives, flour treatment agents | Value white bread, long-life bread |
| Breakfast cereals | 4–8 | Colours, sweeteners, vitamins (fortification), emulsifiers | Sugary children’s cereals, flavoured granola |
| Ice cream (value range) | 6–12 | Emulsifiers, stabilisers, colours, flavourings | Value tubs, ice lollies, soft-scoop |
| Crisps & savoury snacks | 4–8 | Flavour enhancers, colours, acidity regulators | Flavoured crisps, corn snacks, prawn crackers |
While individual additives are tested for safety, the concept of “additive load” — the total number and variety of additives consumed across a whole day — is an area of growing interest among researchers. If your breakfast cereal contains 6 additives, your lunch sandwich has 8, and your ready meal dinner has 12, you may be consuming 25+ different additives in a single day.
The FSA maintains that approved additives are safe at their permitted levels. However, some scientists have raised questions about whether the combined effects of multiple additives consumed together have been adequately studied. This is an evolving area of research, and there is no need for alarm — but being aware of your overall intake is a reasonable approach.
Some products that seem simple actually contain a long list of additives. Here are a few that often surprise people:
Can contain 10+ additives including emulsifiers (E471, E472e), preservatives (E282), flour treatment agents (E300), and soya flour — far more than artisan or sourdough bread.
Often contain modified starch, sweeteners, colours, stabilisers, and flavourings. A single pot can have 6–8 additives compared to plain yoghurt which typically has none.
When fat is removed, manufacturers often add emulsifiers, thickeners, sweeteners, and flavourings to maintain taste and texture. “Low-fat” does not necessarily mean “fewer additives.”
A single pot noodle or instant ramen can contain 15+ additives including MSG (E621), several emulsifiers, colours, and preservatives.
Conversely, some products that appear processed are actually quite straightforward:
If the ingredients list is short and you can recognise most of the items as real food, the product likely has a low additive load. If the list is long and full of E-numbers or chemical names, it has a higher one. Neither is automatically “good” or “bad” — it simply helps you make informed choices.
There are two main ways to check the additive content of food products:
All additives must be listed in the ingredients, either by their E-number or chemical name (or both). However, this can be confusing — “mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids” is the same as E471, and unless you know that, it is hard to assess what you are eating.
A food additive scanner lets you scan a product’s barcode and instantly see all its additives, colour-coded by their safety profile. This is significantly faster than reading labels and makes it practical to check products while shopping. NutraSafe, for example, shows you exactly which additives are in a product and flags any that are commonly associated with sensitivities.
In 2007, a landmark study funded by the FSA at the University of Southampton found that a mixture of six artificial food colours, when combined with sodium benzoate (E211), was associated with increased hyperactivity in children. These six colours became known as the “Southampton Six”:
Since the study, products containing any of these colours must carry the warning: “May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.” Many UK manufacturers have voluntarily removed these colours from their products, replacing them with natural alternatives.
The FSA’s position is clear: all approved food additives have undergone rigorous safety testing, and consuming them within their permitted levels is considered safe. Each additive has an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) set by the EFSA, which includes a large safety margin.
However, the FSA also acknowledges that:
This is a balanced position — additives are not inherently harmful, but understanding what is in your food empowers you to make choices that are right for you and your family. Checking products with an ingredient scanner is one practical way to do this.
Speak to your doctor if you suspect additive sensitivity, particularly if you experience:
Your GP can help investigate whether additives are contributing to your symptoms and refer you to a specialist if needed. Keeping a food diary with detailed notes on specific products consumed can be very helpful for these discussions.
NutraSafe scans barcodes and shows you every additive in a product, colour-coded and explained in plain English. Make informed choices in seconds.
Download Free on the App StoreSoft drinks, sweets and confectionery, ready meals, processed meats, and cheap sliced bread typically contain the most additives. A single fizzy drink can contain 5–10 additives including sweeteners, colours, preservatives, and acidity regulators. Whole, unprocessed foods like fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, and fish naturally contain no added additives.
The FSA and EFSA require all food additives to pass rigorous safety testing before they can be approved for use in the UK. Each additive has an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) set well below levels that could cause harm. However, some people may be sensitive to certain additives, and the long-term effects of consuming many different additives together are still being studied.
The Southampton Six are six artificial food colourings — Tartrazine (E102), Quinoline Yellow (E104), Sunset Yellow (E110), Carmoisine (E122), Ponceau 4R (E124), and Allura Red (E129) — that were linked to hyperactivity in children in a 2007 FSA-funded study. Products containing these must carry a warning label in the UK.
You can read the ingredients list on the packaging — additives are listed by their E-number or chemical name. However, this can be time-consuming and confusing. A food scanner app like NutraSafe lets you scan a barcode and instantly see all additives in a product, colour-coded by their safety profile.
Yes. Some products that seem processed are surprisingly simple. For example, many premium ice creams contain just cream, sugar, eggs, and flavouring. Sourdough bread often contains only flour, water, and salt. Premium sausages from butchers may contain far fewer additives than supermarket value ranges. Reading labels or scanning products is the best way to check.
Last updated: February 2026