Chocolate s'mores pie

Flagged additives

• Tartrazine — Southampton study link to hyperactivity/attention effects in children; can trigger reactions in sensitive individuals.
• Allura red AC — Southampton Six colour; hyperactivity/attention concern in children.
• Brilliant blue FCF — Synthetic dye; allergic-type reactions reported in sensitive individuals.
• Sodium benzoate — Preservative; can form trace benzene (a carcinogen) when combined with ascorbic acid; implicated in child hyperactivity studies.
• Calcium propionate — Propionate preservatives have been associated in limited studies with behavioural/irritability effects in children and with migraine in sensitive individuals; evidence is weak.
• Phosphoric acid — Acidulant (colas); high total phosphate intake linked to bone-mineral and renal concerns in some studies.
• Carrageenan — Degraded carrageenan, and in some animal/in-vitro studies food-grade carrageenan, are linked to intestinal inflammation; human evidence is limited and contested.
• Diphosphates — Inorganic phosphate additives are highly bioavailable; high additive-phosphate intake is associated with increased cardiovascular and kidney burden, particularly in chronic kidney disease.
• Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) — Synthetic emulsifier linked in animal and in-vitro studies to gut-microbiome disruption and intestinal inflammation; human evidence is emerging.