Calcium Propionate

mattsmum

New Member
I thought this was worth mentioning. I have pulled all forms of dairy from difficult child diet and have seen a great improvement. A few weeks ago, I got lazy and was letting difficult child eat dairy. Last weekend, after a major meltdown episode, I looked at the ingredients for what he ate (hot dog rolls). I was surprised to find this when I looked up Calcium Propionate...

As a food additive, it is listed as E number 282 in the Codex Alimentarius. Calcium propanoate is used as a preservative in a wide variety of products, including but not limited to bread, other baked goods, processed meat, whey, and other dairy products. In agriculture, it is used, amongst other things, to prevent milk fever in cows and as a feed supplement Propanoates prevent microbes from producing the energy they need, like benzoates do. However, unlike benzoates, propanoates do not require an acidic environment.

Calcium propanoate is used in bakery products as a mold inhibitor, typically at 0.1-0.4% (though animal feed may contain up to 1%). Mold contamination is considered a serious problem amongst bakers, and conditions commonly found in baking present near-optimal conditions for mold growth.

Behavioral effects
Calcium propionate has been weakly linked to irritability, restlessness, inattention, and sleep disturbance in children. The Ecologist Online claims that it is linked to allergic reactions in bakery workers.
 

tmriley

New Member
My only question is: what do you feed your child then if you take all this stuff out of their diet, I have also been told that organic foods work well on ADHD kids, but we are on a low budget food income and can't really afford that type of food. Any suggestions? Thanks** Tammy
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
Tammy,
I don't know what your situation is or what problems you are having with your child. You should go to the "my stuff" button at the top of the page and fill out the profile section, so you aren't asked this every time you post.

Welcome to the site, by the way.

If you can't go fully organic, pick the things that you are most concerned with. I don't do organic fruits and vegetables, unless they are on sale and compatible with the rest. If you have a Whole Foods near you, they are only natural foods and it is quite a bit cheaper than shopping the natural food section at your local grocery store.

My biggest suggestion to most people are to cut out the food coloring and corn syrups. IMPO, I think most kids are reactive to those things, even easy child children. I notice that when my son has those, he gets a little nutty and goes bonkers, as do some of my friends' kids. There's a good start. I go for the organic versions of the foods that she can't have. All natural granola bars, all natural yogurts (instead of the ones filled with food coloring).
 

TinyBirds

New Member
Hi Tammy,
We'd been trying some healthy sprouted-wheat breads (Alvarado carried by our HEB stores in TX), but after awhile the kids didn't seem to be up for eating it much (especially my 3 yr old). Now we switched to making home-made bread (my 5 yr old says it's the "best bread in the whole world" and my 3 yr old loves it too!). It is an easy quick recipe that adds a little honey and brown sugar, with 50/50 white/whole-wheat flours. Even with buying organic wheat, the price comes to around $1/loaf I figure.

Best wishes!
Jenny
 
Thanks for heads up on Calcium Propianate. After I read this I looked it up and found a study has been done in Australia linking it to all sorts of attention and behavior problems. Of course my bread has it too. Apparently it can even be a hidden ingredient and some breads are made with whey that somehow has the Calcium Propianate in it and it is not declared. I can not yet find the actual entire study but have been able to find summaries.

"Propionibacteria can be cultured in whey powder as a method of using natural 282 preservative without having to declare it on the label. Avoid breads containing whey or whey powder, even if marked "preservative free". This potential problem applies only to whey powder in bread and other bakery products such as croissants, and does not apply to whey powder in icecream."
 
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