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Our special dietary needs series continues with advice from Suzannah Olivier on how nurseries can ensure the food they serve has the minimum of artificial additives Parents are increasingly becoming aware of the links between artificial food additives and their children's health. Many will request that nurseries avoid giving their children certain additives such as artificial sweeteners, artificial colourings or certain preservatives. It is an unfortunate truth that children's foods often feature such additives. An Organix report, Carrots or Chemistry, found that one third of children's foods contained colourings and most, particularly biscuits and cereal bars, had an average of five additives.

Parents are increasingly becoming aware of the links between artificial food additives and their children's health. Many will request that nurseries avoid giving their children certain additives such as artificial sweeteners, artificial colourings or certain preservatives. It is an unfortunate truth that children's foods often feature such additives. An Organix report, Carrots or Chemistry, found that one third of children's foods contained colourings and most, particularly biscuits and cereal bars, had an average of five additives.

There are two principal problems with additives:

* Children need top quality ingredients as they are at a critical growth and development stage which depends upon good nutrition. Flavourings and colourings are often used to disguise cheap and tasteless ingredients (such as mechanically recovered meat, starch, maltodextrine and added water) that have little or no nutritional value.

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