Day 038 - 19 Oct 94 - Page 55
1 the frequency of those in the population would be?
2 A. There is not a single figure that I could confidently
3 ascribe either to each of these compounds one by one or to
4 them collectively. It is very, very rare, in my
5 experience, ever to come across an individual who is
6 allergic to one of these additives, particularly one
7 colouring, and not to any of the others.
8
9 Therefore, what we have are clusters of individuals who
10 respond adversely to clusters of compounds. I have yet to
11 find what I would take to be an adequate study which gives
12 reliable evidence of the incidence of this intolerance.
13 So, all I have been able to do in respect of tolerant
14 reactions to these compounds is to provide documentary
15 evidence indicating that such reactions do occur. But what
16 I do not have (and cannot provide) is documentary evidence
17 providing reliable and precise estimates of the frequency
18 at which those reactions occur.
19
20 MR. MORRIS: As an expert in this field, what is your best
21 estimate for allergic reactions in the population?
22 Professor Walker said it was something in the region of 1
23 in a 1,000 or under?
24 A. For the reasons I gave earlier on in my evidence
25 concerning the manner in which those estimates, that 1 in a
26 1,000 or fewer, were generated. I consider those estimates
27 unreliable and, moreover, systematically to underestimate
28 the scale of the problem.
29
30 Q. What figure would you give?
31 A. As I have suggested for the population as a whole, that
32 is children and adults, I doubt that the incidence is lower
33 than 1 per cent and is probably not higher than 5 per cent
34 but in intolerance, and particularly hyperactivity, is more
35 common amongst children than adults, in my experience, and
36 the incidence amongst children conceivably might be as high
37 as 10 per cent or that order of magnitude.
38
39 But that is simply an informed guess based upon 20 years of
40 scrutinizing the data and being in contact with such
41 individuals, and not supported by particular studies which
42 I deem to be reliable.
43
44 Q. So your best figure would be between 1 and 5 per cent for
45 all the intolerances?
46 A. For all the additives in all the population.
47
48 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That is not just restricted to the additives
49 listed here; that is all additives in food?
50 A. That is correct, though it is unlikely -- it is very
51 rare, in my experience, for people to be intolerant to some
52 colours but not either Amaranth or Sunset Yellow.
53
54 Q. I would suggest to you, if I may, that you kick off with
55 Sunset Yellow and follow the routine which you mentioned
56 when I first got back and see whether that helps or not.
57 Although I stopped you putting the abstract to
58 Dr. Millstone, it seems to me there is actually no harm in
59 having it in front of him in the witness box if he wants.
60 Is there any objection to that, Mr. Rampton?
