Additives - E-numbers: E904, E910, E920, E921, E951, E954, E959, E965, E966

The purified form of the resin exuded by the female of the lac insect Laccifer lacca, found in India and the Far East.

After drying into sheets it is normally supplied as an alcohol solution although varying chemical processes can produce different grades.

Used as a glazing agent and polish it is found on cake decorations, fruit, pills and sweets.

May cause skin irritation.

A naturally occuring sulphur containing amino acid, derived from cystine, that the body needs to produce Glutathione, one of the body's major antioxidants.

Natural sources of cysteine include eggs, meat, dairy products and some cereals although it is commercially produced from hair, both animal and human, (which is around 12% cysteine) and feathers.

In compound form (E920 and E921) it is used in flour and bakery products (except wholemeal) where it is used as an improving agent and in chicken stock cubes where it is used as a flavour.

Diabetics should be aware that there are some reports that it may interfere with insulin and there are anecdotal reports that it can react with monosodium glutamate (E621) in individuals who suffer from the so called Chinese restaurant syndrome, a set of symptoms, including headache, burning sensations, dizziness and disorientation.

A compound produced from L-cysteine (E910) a naturally occuring sulphur containing amino acid that the body needs to produce Glutathione, one of the body's major antioxidants.

Found in flour and bakery products (except wholemeal) where it is used as an improving agent and in chicken stock cubes where it is used as a flavour.

A compound produced from L-cysteine (E910) a naturally occuring sulphur containing amino acid that the body needs to produce Glutathione, one of the body's major antioxidants.

Found in flour and bakery products (except wholemeal) where it is used as an improving agent and in chicken stock cubes where it is used as a flavour.

An intense sweetener synthesised from aspartic acid and phenylalanine.

Aspartame is around 200 times sweeter than sugar, weight for weight.

Originally banned as being carcinogenic it is now allowed. Apart from being found in table top sweeteners (such as Canderel) it can also be found in alcohol-free beer, cider, desserts, fruit juice drinks, tinned or bottled fruits, ice cream, jams, jellies, margarine, marmalades, milk drinks, mustard, sauces, soft drinks and sweets, normally with the description 'no added sugar', 'diet', 'light' or 'lite'.

Aspartame is probably one of the most controversial additives on the market and because of the widely conflicting research, some of which says it is safe and others which give side effects ranging from headaches to death with almost everything in between, establishing the truth is almost impossible.

One part of the research, which does not seem to be disputed, is that during the normal metabolism of Aspartame, the amino acid phenylalanine is released. Around 1 in 10,000 people who suffer the genetic metabolic defect Phenylketonuria (PKU) cannot metabolise phenylalanine and should therefore avoid Aspartame, as an excess of phenylalanine can cause brain damage.

Because of this danger products containing Aspartame have to carry the notice that it is a source of phenylalanine.

The other two products metabolised are aspartic acid (40%) which can cause brain damage in foetuses, and methanol (10%) an alcohol which turns into formaldehyde, a known toxic substance better known as embalming fluid.

A high consensus also seem to agree that Aspartame is an excitotoxin and has a similar effect on the brain as Monosodium glutamate, E621 with similar problems. (Excitotoxins are a class of chemicals that can produce brain damage by 'over exciting' neurons into firing their impulses very rapidly until they reach a state of extreme exhaustion. Several hours later these neurons can suddenly die.)

It is further suggested that much of the damage caused is irreversible and that the unborn, the young and old are particularly susceptible to this damage.

Also, researchers from King's College, London are currently investigating the effects of Aspartame to see if it is linked to an increased risk of malignant brain tumours.

Until the truth of the matter is ascertained this is one additive probably best avoided.

MORE INFO ON ASPARTAME:

La Leva's Food section:
http://www.laleva.cc/food/food.html

An artificial sweetener, around 500 times sweeter than sugar but with a slightly bitter and metallic aftertaste, particularly after heating.

It was discovered by accident by American chemists Ira Remsen and Constantine Fahlberg at Johns Hopkins University in 1879, making it the oldest artificial sweetener. In 1901 John Francis Queeny founded a new company in St. Louis to produce it. He named the company after his wife, Monsanto, and in 1903 the entire output was taken by a growing soft drink company in Georgia called Coca-Cola.

Synthesised from toluene, a colourless inflammable liquid, insoluble in water, derived from petroleum.

Toluene is probably better known for its part in the preparation of trinitrotoluene - the powerful explosive more commonly known by the acronym TNT.

Toluene is a well-known carcinogen and Saccharin was banned in the USA in 1977, but reinstated subject to strict labelling stating:

"Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals".

A bill passed in 2000 removed this requirement after it was decided that the Canadian research that indicated that saccharin caused bladder tumours in rats did not apply to humans under normal patterns of use.

Useful for diabetics it can be found in alcohol-free beer, cider, desserts, fruit juice drinks, tinned or bottled fruits, ice cream, jams, jellies, margarine, marmalades, milk drinks, mustard, sauces, soft drinks and sweets, normally with the description 'no added sugar' or 'diet'.

An artificial intense sweetener discovered by accident at the US Department of Agriculture's Western Regional Research Laboratories, while other work was being undertaken on extracts from grapefruit seeds, although Seville oranges are now normally used.

Neohesperidine dihydrochalcone is around 340 times sweeter than sugar, weight for weight, but can leave a cooling aftertaste.

Can be found in alcohol-free beer, cider, desserts, fruit juice drinks, tinned or bottled fruits, ice cream, jams, jellies, margarine, marmalades, milk drinks, mustard, sauces, soft drinks and sweets, normally with the description 'no added sugar'.

A polyhydric alchohol produced by hydrogenation of maltose normally used as a bulk sweetener.

Can be found in breakfast cereals, chewing gum, cocoa based products, desserts, ice cream, jams, jellies, mustard, sauces and sweets, normally with the description 'no added sugar'.

A polyhydric alchohol, normally used as a bulk sweetener, produced by hydrogenation of lactose. It is water soluble with a mild sweet taste.

Can have a laxative effect and, in large amounts, diarrhoea. As it does not alter blood glucose and insulin levels it is said to be a suitable sugar substitute for diabetics.

It is found in breakfast cereals, chewing gum, cocoa based products, desserts, ice cream, jams, jellies, mustard, sauces and sweets, normally with the description 'no added sugar'.

Lactose, from which lactitol is derived, is the principal carbohydrate found in milk. It is a disaccharide containing one molecule of glucose and one of galactose linked together. It is sometimes called milk sugar and is the only common sugar of animal origin, comprising about 2 to 8 percent of the milk of mammals.

Lactose intolerance, caused by a deficiency of the enzyme lactase, is well documented, but basically in the diet lactose is broken down into its component parts, glucose and galactose, by the enzyme lactase. They are then absorbed from the digestive tract for use by the body. Individuals deficient in lactase cannot metabolise lactose and as unmetabolised lactose cannot be absorbed from the digestive tract it builds up, leading to intestinal distress.

Commercially lactose is usually prepared by crystallisation, after water evaporation, from whey, a by-product of cheese-making.