Additives are chemicals put into food products to enhance them, and include colouring, flavouring, and preservatives to extend shelf life. Most food additives are cosidered safe. However, some have been linked to cancers, and neurological diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers. Others are known to produce adverse reactions, such as allergies, hyperactivity in children, asthma, and migraines.

Health Effects
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) are antioxidants that prevent the colour, flavour, or texture changes that occur when foods are exposed to air. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of the World Health Organisation) considers BHA and BHT carcinogenic. Repeated studies show that BHA and BHT increase the risk of cancer, accumulate in body tissue, cause liver enlargement, and retard cell development.

The additives that cause the majority of problems include aspartame, monosodium glutamate (MSG), and some dyes. People who are asprin sensative often have severe reactions including life-threatening asthmatic symptoms and anaphylactic shock.

Aspartame, is an artificial sweetener that replaces sugar in many products. Some of the reactions are itching, respiratory allergies, headaches, dizziness, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, memory loss, heart palpitations and angioedema or swelling of the eyelids, lips, hands or feet.

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
MSG is a flavour enhancer, this has no taste but 'draws' out the natural flavour in foods. A small percentage of people react to MSG with symptoms such as headache, tight painfull chest, rapid heartbeat, nausea, diarrhea and sweating. MSG has been linked with neurological diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Cost effects
The biggest additive of all is water. And there is water water everywhere - from "the man who watered the workers' beer" to the sophisticated techniques to bulk chickens to twice the weight. More on the "Chicken Run"