Day 266 - 20 Jun 96 - Page 37
1 by the Department of Health, it is the opinion of the COMA
2 panel of dietary reference values of committee and -- my
3 Lord, it is number 41.
4
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes?
6 A. Could I have a copy of that?
7
8 MR. RAMPTON: Of course you can. I would not dream of your
9 doing without a copy. My Lord, page 52?
10 A. Page 52. Right.
11
12 Q. The passage that I am going to refer you to is a chapter
13 about fat, which starts on page 39?
14 A. Page 39, not 52?
15
16 Q. The chapter is just to show you what it is about. It is
17 the chapter on fat, and this is published in 1990 and
18 republished in 1994. The little passage that I am going to
19 show you is in the section of the chapter on the
20 relationship between cancer and fat, which starts at page
21 49.
22 A. Page 49.
23
24 Q. Yes, at paragraph 3.5?
25 A. Do you want me to read this out?
26
27 Q. Not at all. No.
28
29 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do not be anxious if I might suggest, just
30 listen to Counsel's questions and answer them. If you have
31 gone a certain way along with answering his questions and
32 you have a reservation about something, then by all means
33 state it. But just trust him for the time being, and then
34 come up any comment you want to make.
35
36 MR. RAMPTON: I am only showing you--
37
38 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do not bother, in other words, where it is
39 taking you, just answer his questions for the moment?
40 A. Yes, certainly.
41
42 MR. RAMPTON: I am only showing you this because you said that
43 every government in the world, and indeed every health body
44 in the world, agreed about these questions and one of the
45 questions is the relationship between dietary fat and
46 cancer. Can you look at page 52, which is the
47 "Conclusions" of the section on Dietary Fat and Cancer.
48 This is what the COMA panel said. It is 37.5.6:
49
50 "Conclusions: The panel concluded that there is currently
51 insufficient evidence on which to base a recommendation for
52 a decrease in fat intakes to prevent cancer, although an
53 increase in consumption in any fatty acids should not be
54 encouraged. The panel agreed that the Dietary Reference
55 Values based on other considerations", which is in relation
56 to heart disease and matters of that kind, "were consistent
57 with a prudent view of the current data relating dietary
58 fat and the occurrence of cancer."
59
60 There is one government, and I will show you what the World
