People often talk about food allergies and food intolerances and most times use the terms interchangeably. However, even though symptoms can be similar, they are not the same thing.

Food allergies are an over-reaction of the bodies immune system to a specific part of a food, usually the protein component. These proteins are called allergens. Therefore in a food allergy the immune system responds to a harmless substance as if it were toxic. This reaction usually develops very soon after the food is consumed.

Hi my name is Pam. My journey into food additives began some 20 years ago. As a young woman fresh out of high school, I had a keen interest in beauty, health and nutrition. This led me to undertake a Diploma in Beauty Therapy. I quickly realised that although external treatments on the body were helpful in improving the skin's appearance and elasticity, it was what we put inside our body that really made the difference. With this focus in mind, I enrolled myself at a leading naturopathic College and studied a Diploma in Nutrition.

Have you ever noticed that people with food allergies and sensitivities very rarely get invited out for lunch or dinner? The reason is simple — it is very difficult to cook and cater for those people! There is always the fear that you might cook something that can trigger a severe reaction or anaphylacticAn acute allergic reaction with rapid and severe onset that can lead to respiratory failure and life-threatening symptoms. shock. Most people don't want to have that responsibility and it's much easier to just not invite them.

Have you ever thought about where food additives actually come from? They can be made from plant, animal, insect, chemical, or even synthetic substances.

Take Cochineal (E120), for example. It is a natural red colourAdded to change or intensify colour in food. derived from the insect Dayctylopius coccus, which feeds off various cacti plants. The body and eggs of the insect are crushed to extract the carminic dye. Apparently cochineal gatherers take special care to harvest the pregnant females, which have the highest concentration of carminic dye.

I am a mother of one 7 year old “big” boy. As a mother I am very health-conscious and actively seek to provide the best for my family.

Sometimes additives have unexpected side effects.

I thought this study was particularly interesting:

Rats dosed with the dye — known as brilliant blue G — after injury showed greater improvement in motor skills than rats not receiving the dye. And assuming the food colorant’s low toxicity holds true for brilliant blue, the research suggests a new approach for treating spinal cord trauma in humans, injuries for which there are few therapies.

Hello, and welcome to Foodditive. My name is Suzy and I am one of the contributors to the website.

Let me start by saying that I have a very personal interest in food additives and how they affect my family. I will tell you why, and how we came to our 'discovery'.

I have an 8 year old son and a 3 year old daughter, and my interest and concern was focused on my son. After several years of frustration, heartache, and concern we have finally arrived at a reason and thus a partial solution to our problems.

Hi, my name is Effie and I am one of the Foodditive contributors and content writers. I alone have spent over 1500 hours (and I kid you not) researching, collating, and writing the information that you see here today ... and that is just ME! My fellow co-workers have spent tireless days and nights working so we can make sure that the information that we have for you is accurate, up-to-date, and in a format that is easy to understand. We've been very ambitious trying to make the content work for both the web site and the iPhone app, but I think we've succeeded.

What's in a name, you say? When it comes to food additives — plenty!

In recent years a growing number of my friends and family have been discovering they have sensitivities to food and food additives. Reactions range from "I think this cordial makes my child hyper" through to "I need to carry an EpiPenA registered trademark for a commonly used adrenaline injection used to treat anaphylactic shock. because I may get an anaphylacticAn acute allergic reaction with rapid and severe onset that can lead to respiratory failure and life-threatening symptoms. response".