It was regarding a talk being given in Newcastle this week by food anti-additive campaigner and researcher Sue Dengate.

Sue, a teacher and trained psychologist, and her husband Dr Howard Dengate, a food scientist, have been combining their skills to help inform community members on some home truths about the so-called “healthy” foods they are feeding themselves and their families.

So it was with interest that I rang Sue to find out more about her talk and what message they will be sharing at the Hunter Medical Research Institute building tomorrow night.

I only spoke to Sue briefly but the information was eye-opening.

We have tried to keep our kids’ diets fairly healthy but I was startled when Sue revealed the wraps we have been giving the kids as a sometimes alternative to bread are on her hit list.

Sue’s biggest issue has been the way companies market their foods.

And, I have to admit, I am easily fooled by the front of package claims. Most parents out there could empathise with the plight of shopping with kids in tow. I am usually in a hurry, rarely have time to read the labels properly, and generally go for the foods that are spruiking something healthy on the front.

But, sue told me, this is the trap.

“I’m not happy about the way additives are going because basically consumers are very confused about what is happening,” she said last week. “They don’t understand the new names for additives and the audience we talked to last night were actually very angry about how they’re being tricked into eating things and not realising how bad they are.

“It’s the ingredients label. We had someone last week saying, ‘I can’t believe I thought I was feeding my children healthy food’. And we hear that all of the time.

“For example, most people think that wraps are healthier than bread. They just can’t believe how many additives are in them.”

Sue has always been interested in children’s behaviour and became even more interested when she had children.

“I have lived with this myself,” she said. “I guess I first got into this because of my own children and then I thought, I’ve got to keep doing it so that when they grow up there will be something that they can eat and now I just see that everybody needs help. It’s become too hard for families who think they are doing the right thing and they’re not.”

Sue is author of the best-selling Fed Up series about reducing food chemicals for calm, happy families. 

“We started off with behaviour … We now find about half of the people in our audiences are there for adult health problems, ranging from irritable bowel and eczema right through to arthritis, which is a really big one,” she said.

After talking to Sue I went home and started rifling through the cupboards and was alarmed by how many foods we were consuming that contained several additives and preservatives.

Then I decided to do an additive and preservative-free shop and it was pretty hard. 

“More than 80% of people want to avoid additives, but which ones cause problems and how are they hidden in foods today?” Dengate said. “Parents really need to know what to look for.”

She said up to 129 “natural” substitutes for MSG are also hidden in foods and can affect consumers of all ages.

Sue also told me that the bread preservative 282 is increasingly disguised as “cultured dextrose” or “cultured” anything in breads and wraps even though it can cause irritability, fatigue or insomnia in children and adults.

“Reactions to additives build up slowly, so most parents don’t realise they or their children are affected,” she said. “When the family avoids additives for a few weeks parents are amazed to see their children calmer, happier, sleeping better and doing better at school – and they themselves often feel better too”.

The talk starts at 7pm. Tickets at the door.