The Government must move to label ingredients in all medicines, the Green Party said today.
The call came after revelations that artificial sweeteners which caused cancer in animals were included unlabelled in
medicines targeted at children. Lobby group Safe Food revealed earlier today that all liquid antibiotics and paracetamol
on the market contained artificial sweeteners such as saccharin or aspartame that were explicitly banned from infant
formulas and preparations intended for babies.
Green Party Health Spokesperson Sue Kedgley said it was scandalous to discover that additives that were banned from baby
food were routinely used in medicine aimed at young babies and children.
"These additives should be removed immediately from liquid medicines. There have been serious safety concerns about both
of these artificial sweeteners," Ms Kedgley said.
Saccharin had been found to cause cancer in some laboratory animals, and was banned in Canada, France and other
countries. Aspartame caused holes in the brains of some laboratory animals, and some scientists believed it was linked
to an increase in brain tumours and other neurological disorders.
In the USA food containing saccharin must carry the warning "Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This
product contains saccharin which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals". Even in New Zealand soft
drinks containing saccharin must state that they were "not recommended for children".
Labelling of all medicines, and especially ones targeted at children, was urgently needed and long overdue, Ms Kedgley
said.
It was a fundamental consumer right to know what was in food - or medicines - they consumed, particularly when medicine
might contain additives that could provoke adverse reactions or affect people's health, Ms Kedgley said.