Food additives ban improves pupils' behaviour

A school that banned food additives from children's meals has seen a remarkable improvement in pupils' behaviour and concentration.

St Barnabas First and Middle School, in Drakes Broughton, Worcestershire, has removed 27 artificial colourings and preservatives from its menu after concerns that they were making some children hyperactive.

The school's canteen still serves a traditional menu but the ingredients of every meal have been checked to ensure that none of the blacklisted "E" numbers are present.

Yesterday, pupils had a choice of spaghetti bolognese or pizza with chips or salad, followed by fruit or a doughnut.

"You wouldn't notice any difference from just looking at the menu," said Ann Fitzgerald, the teacher behind the scheme. "There are a lot of hidden additives out there. We've just read the labels and switched brands to avoid the 'E' numbers. For instance, we have checked that the jam in the doughnut doesn't contain bright red colouring."

Staff had been amazed at how many foods contained the 27 additives, Mrs Fitzgerald said. Gravy, sauces, ham and bacon were found to contain undesirable colourings and preservatives, so the school has now switched brands. Even the canteen's clear flavoured waters were found to contain sodium benzoate – E211 – a preservative that has been linked to hyperactivity and bad behaviour.

The only obvious difference in the canteen is that it now only serves white custard, having banned the colouring used to make it appear yellow.

Emma Drinkwater, who manages the canteen, said that most of the children had not noticed any change in the food. "They are not the sort of changes that would taste any different," she said. "What has surprised us all is just how many foods contain these additives. It's definitely changed the way I shop for myself – I now spend hours reading all the labels."

Charlie Lupton, the school's headteacher, said: "We are so convinced of the negative effects of food additives that we are very keen for other parents to be aware of our findings."

The school first adopted the additive ban during a two-week trial this summer. The pilot was so successful that one in three parents said their children were better behaved during the trial, while 18 per cent reported that their children were sleeping better.

The teachers also noticed that children who usually found it difficult to concentrate were much calmer and more able to get on with their work.

During the trial, the parents of 100 of the school's 355 pupils also introduced the additive ban to their homes. Mrs Fitzgerald said: "You can look around any school and find at least one child in every class who is not concentrating as well as the teacher would like. These are the children who could benefit from an additive-free diet."

Last month, a study by the Food Commission, an independent watchdog, found that food additives could lead to hyperactivity and tantrums in a quarter of children exposed to them. It analysed the effects of five different additives on 277 three-year-olds from the Isle of Wight. The children were given a drink containing the artificial colourings tartrazine (E102), sunset yellow (E110), carmoisine (E122), ponceau 4R (E124), and the preservative sodium benzoate (E211).

The school recently banned junk food during breaks. "We want the school to be an additive-free zone ... so that children will not eat anything containing these additives from the moment they walk in the gates to the minute they go home," Mrs Fitzgerald said.