BRIEFING: The impact of the Southampton study on the additives debate

A little under a year ago, a new study was published by researchers at Southampton University in the UK which, it was suggested, provided the strongest evidence to date of a link between hyperactivity in children and the use in food of certain artificial colourings and the preservative sodium benzoate. The debate over the use of these additives has been a long-running one. This month's briefing looks back at the study itself and the various bodies involved in making the study one of the hottest areas of the long-running food additives debate.