A report on food additives has found that more than half of EU-approved additives are used in foods in the Irish diet.
Of the 311 additives labelled with E numbers, 162 were found in foods consumed here, according to the report by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. Two preservatives, sulphites and nitrites, showed intakes which could potentially be harmful if consumed in vast quantities over a person's lifetime.
Nitrites are most commonly found in cured meat products, such as bacon and ham. Sulphites are found in foods such as burgers and sausages, and to a lesser extent in some processed, peeled or cut vegetables, dried fruits, jams, jellies, wines and beers.
Dr Wayne Anderson, chief food science specialist with the Food Safety Authority, said this was not a cause for alarm as the foods would have to be taken daily in very large quantities over a lifetime before any ill-effects were felt.
Excessive intake of nitrites could affect the blood's ability to take in oxygen, while sulphites could affect people with asthmatic problems.
Dr Anderson said the authority would monitor the use of these additives and ensure that best practice was followed.
This report, Legislation: intake and usage of food additives in Ireland, is the first such study to be published in this State. Its findings are in line with other EU member-states, according to Dr Anderson.
He said the findings would dispel some of the conflicting information on the use of these additives. "E numbers were depicted in the 1980s as something to avoid. However, the fact that an additive has an E number means that its use is controlled by the additive legislation and it has undergone a full safety assessment."
