by Ashley Lister
Smarties have been with us in one form or another since
1882. According to Wikipedia they were briefly renamed Smarties Chocolate Beans in 1937 but forced to change the name the
following year because it was feared the word ‘beans’ might be misleading.
The blue Smartie was introduced in 1988 to celebrate the
fiftieth anniversary of Smarties being called Smarties. The crispy shell of the
Smartie was turned blue by the addition of various food colourings, including E133
– Brilliant Blue.
Although the blue Smartie was only supposed to be a brief
promotional tool it was an immediate success. Blue foods are unusual in nature
and, aside from this novelty aspect, children reportedly liked the way it
stained the tongue.
But it transpired that blue Smarties were possibly not the
healthiest item that parents should be forcing down their children’s throats –
and bear in mind this was the late eighties after the success of Jimmy Savile
and Gary Glitter when quite a lot of unpalatable things had already been stuffed down children's throats. In a fascinating article about blue Smarties and the toxic
cocktail of additives they contained, (http://autoimmunethyroid.wordpress.com/2006/06/01/blue-smarties-and-the-cocktail-effect/)
a writer on behalf of the Auto Immune Thyroid Disease website transcribes
parliamentary reports on the toxicity of the blue Smarties.
This is from the paper cited in that article:
“The research suggests
that specific combinations can have a neurotoxic effect.
The researchers at the
University of Liverpool examined the toxic effects on nerve cells by using a
combination of the following four common food additives:
E133 Brilliant Blue
with E621 monosodium glutamate (MSG) and
E104 Quinoline Yellow
with E951 L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester.
The mixtures of the
additives had a much more potent effect on nerve cells than each additive on
its own. The effect on cells was up to four times greater when Brilliant Blue
and MSG were combined, and up to seven times greater when Quinoline Yellow and
Aspartame were combined.
The study shows that
when the nerve cells were exposed to MSG and Brilliant Blue or Aspartame and
Quinoline Yellow the additives stopped the nerve cells from normal growth and
interfered with proper signalling systems.
The experiments were
done in laboratory conditions and the additives were combined in concentrations
that theoretically reflect the compound that enters the bloodstream after a
typical children’s snack and drink.
Shortly after this
research was published, Nestlé Rowntree dropped their blue Smartie.”
Whilst it’s laudable that Nestlé Rowntree dropped their blue
Smartie after laboratory experiments had proved that the product had the
potential to cause brain damage in its young target audience, it seems to me
that this information wasn’t made clear to the general public. Either that or
the effects of brain damage were already in place.
FaceBook groups were created demanding the blue Smartie be
brought back. Individuals began campaigning to have the blue Smartie
reintroduced. People spoke nostalgically about the ‘good old days’ of the blue
Smartie and waxed wistfully and lyrically about the ‘all blue packs’.
Bowing to public pressure, Nestlé Rowntree have reintroduced
a blue Smartie with the aid of a natural colour obtained from a seaweed called spirulina.
Personally I think it’s only natural to eat things obtained from seaweed if you’re
a piece of plankton, although I’m not expert on these matters and it could be
my brain functions have been damaged from eating too many blue Smarties as a
child.
However, this methadone version of the original blue Smartie
seems to have satisfied consumer appetites so now everyone is happy (apart from the Nestlé Rowntree CEO who believes that all water should be privatised - but that's different blog for a different day).
What does this have to do with poetry? I’ve written a poem.
I’d eat your blue stilton, even though that stuff is blue
I’d drink your blue Blue Bols at a request from you
I would lick your blue waffle if you really wanted that from me
But I would never ever eat your nasty blue Smartie
2 comments:
I would add Smurf penis to the list.
I enjoyed this blog. It present evidence to show that as a race, we are happy to get addicted to anything.
Colin - don't knock the smurf penis until you've tried it.
The thing that amazes me with this is that Nestle have managed to keep this so secret.
I suppose we're all busy looking at their asswipe of a CEO who was telling the world that all water should be privatised. Damned good piece of misdirection on their part.
Ash - addicted to most things.
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