Calls for warnings on foods full of additives

They point out that these same chemicals – mainly vivid colours and preservatives – are required to carry warnings when used in medicines.

The artificial colours under the spotlight are E102 (tartrazine), E110 (sunset yellow) and E124 (ponceau red), which are used in soft drinks, cakes and sweets.

The preservatives include E211 (sodium benzoate), E220 (sulphur dioxide) and E223 ( sodium metabisulphite).

When used in medication, warnings such as "may cause allergic reactions" or "mildly irritant to the skin, eyes and mucous membranes" are included on the packaging.

A third reads "may rarely cause severe hypersensitivity reactions and bronchospasm" or difficulty in breathing.

Yet according to pressure group the Food Commission, at least one of these chemicals is present in a range of soft drinks including Diet Coke, Ribena, Irn-Bru, Vimto, Dr Pepper, Lucozade Energy, Fanta and Robinsons orange squash.

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Ian Tokelove, spokesman for the commission's The Food Magazine, said: "Medical guidelines say that a warning should be given when these additives are used at even the lowest of levels.

"We are exposed to much greater quantities of food additives in our food and drink compared to medicines, which most of us consume infrequently. Yet food labels give no warnings for these additives."

He added: "For many people the additives appear to pose no immediate risk, but better labelling would ensure that susceptible adults and children would at least have a chance of identifying, and avoiding, the additives that may cause them harm."

Research for the Food Standards Agency is reported to have drawn a link between these additives and hyperactivity, lack of concentration and temper tantrums in children.

However, the details are being kept under wraps pending publication in a medical journal.

A spokesman for the Food and Drink Federation, which speaks for manufacturers, said: "The use of food additives is strictly regulated under European law. They must be approved as safe by the appropriate European scientific committee before they can be used. "Consumers' intake of food additives is also closely monitored.

"A recent European Commission report indicated that consumption of all types of additives was within the strict safety limits set by the legislation."