Always Read the Label!

Friday is often the end of a busy week so it's nice to cook something super simple, this week it was homemade pizza.

We never buy pizza takeaway as 1) it's expensive, 2)who knows what's in the ingredients as they don't have to label their ingredients and 3) in the time that it takes for you to call, order and and wait for it's arrival we would have devoured our homemade pizza!

I used to make our pizza bases as I never could find a base that was purely additive and preservative free. Did you know that the leading frozen brand here in Australia has L-cysteine (920) in it - and it's derived from animal and human hair! Ewwww....

The brand I found that we could safely consume was Pomodoro Bros. Stone Baked Pizza Bases Twin Pack, but while I was cleaning up after dinner last night I noticed the packaging stated "New & Improved Stone Baked Recipe". The red light went up instantly as change isn't always a good thing.

Disappointingly this came to be the case. They have added Preservative 281 or Sodium Propionate in it. This is unfortunate as now I will not be buying their product anymore, it's one less good product on our shelves and instead of singing their praises I now am writing this. 

I know that I shouldn't be naming and shaming, but I was just so disappointed ... and don't worry I'll be letting them know my disappointment with a succinct email.

So what exactly is wrong with Sodium Propionate (281)? Take a read:

• It is used as an antimicrobial agent in bread to prevent germination of some types of bacteria which causes sticky yellow patches to occur. Occurs naturally in fermented food, human sweat and stomachs of cows. 
• In tiny amounts it's not harmful but, as with other additives, the effects are dose related. Very few consumers will be affected immediately by the amount of propionate preservative in one slice of bread for example, but effects are cumulative, and can build up slowly over days or weeks, varying with the dose. This makes identification of the cause of symptoms extremely difficult.
• First Australian researchers reported that propionate preservatives can contribute to hyperactivity in children. They have also found it can cause irritability, restlessness, inattention and sleep disturbance (difficulty settling to sleep and/or frequent night waking) in some children. 

Other reported symptoms include:

• migraine and headaches • gastrointestinal symptoms such as stomach aches, irritable bowel, diarrhea • urinary urgency, bed wetting • eczema and other itchy skin rashes • nasal congestion (stuffy or runny nose) • depression, unexplained tiredness, foggy brain • speech delay, impairment of memory and concentration • tachycardia (fast heart beat) • arrhythmia • seizures • growing pains • loud voice (no volume control) • adult acne

Reference: (Dengate and Ruben 2002)www.fedup.com.au

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