FOOD ADDITIVES

Mr PISONI (Unley) (16:05): Last month we heard about the personal experience of the member Bright in relation to the charging of cakeage—a serious problem that the honourable member raised in this parliament. I stand to discuss a much more serious problem and I, too, reflect on my personal experience. I want to talk about the additives that may have been in that cake and the effect that additives are having on our children when they eat cake. In a lot of instances, those same additives are in the products endorsed by the Right Bite program in South Australia, not only in pie warmers but also in fridges and ovens in school canteens.

After a celebration of International Women's Day at my daughter's school, Amnesty International gave a presentation. Following the presentation, there were free doughnuts with pink icing for the girls to eat. As a young girl, my daughter was an asthma sufferer, but she has not suffered from it for seven years. However, under peer pressure from her girlfriends she had a doughnut, knowing full well that she should probably steer clear of those sorts of things because of the effect they have and, lo and behold, that afternoon she had her first asthma attack for seven years.

We were very concerned and wanted to look at what was in those doughnuts, so we asked for a full list of ingredients from the school, which we have received. Some of the ingredients are quite extraordinary. There were over 30 different ingredients and a list of numbers longer than an international phone number describing the additives. For example, additive 123 is linked to hyperactivity, asthma and eczema and has been banned in the USA since 1976. It is also banned in Russia, Austria, Norway and other countries.

Additive 124 is linked to hyperactivity and asthma and is banned in the USA and Norway, yet our children are eating these additives. They are not only contained in doughnuts, they are also in foods that are approved for sale under the Right Bite program. Additive 102 is linked to hyperactivity, skin rashes, migraines, behavioural problems, thyroid problems and chromosome damage and is banned in Norway and Austria. All of these ingredients are in one doughnut.

An honourable member interjecting:

Mr PISONI: I would not eat the hole; that will give you wind! Additive colour 133 is brilliant blue, which is a suspected carcinogen and is linked to hyperactivity, and asthmatics should avoid it. It is banned in Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria and Norway. Additive 151 is linked to bowel disorders and hyperactivity, and asthmatics should avoid it. It is banned in the USA, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria and Norway, but our children are eating it in our schools. Additive colour 155 is brown and is again linked to asthma and skin irritation. It is banned in the USA, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Norway and Belgium. Additive 122 is linked to skin rashes and hyperactivity and is banned in Sweden, the USA, Austria and Norway. However, again, these are all available in our school canteens under the Right Bite program.

A lot of the Right Bite program foods have come in with lower fat, sugar and salt levels, but they have added extra additives to flavour them—so, we are seeing things such as light ham and light cheese products. School canteen menus boast about using these light products, which all contain things such as sulphur dioxide, which asthmatics should avoid, and ascorbic acid, which is a skin irritant and causes behavioural problems. These are important issues about what our children are eating in schools, and they need to be addressed.