In response to a study linking artificial food additives to hyperactivity in children, U.K. food regulators have called on manufacturers to voluntarily remove six common artificial colorings from their food products by the end of 2009.

This decision by the Britain’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) will affect “hundreds of products” sold throughout the U.K., according to an article in the British newspaper, The Independent.

The move was prompted by the findings of an FSA-commissioned study, published in September in the British medical journal, The Lancet, which showed that six artificial colors, as well as the preservative sodium benzoate, caused increased hyperactivity and decreased attention span in a wide range of children, not just those diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Read more about study in The Lancet.

Learn more about the quality standards of Arico’s all-natural whole grain cookies, which are free of artificial colors and preservatives.