Day 038 - 19 Oct 94 - Page 23
1 see fit to ask for further information, it is often not
2 possible to know, from where I am standing, which compounds
3 they are reviewing or what data they have available.
4
5 That is not always the case. Sometimes they do publish
6 interim reports, but typically reports are only available
7 once they have reached their final decision. So, it is
8 only possible to know what data they have been looking at
9 once they have reached their decision. Indeed, in some
10 cases, I believe, that where a compound is not permitted,
11 no reports -- it may then happen that a report is not
12 published at all.
13
14 MS. STEEL: Can I clarify or ask you to clarify -- sorry, I am
15 actually getting a bit confused. Where you were talking
16 about secrecy being so comprehensive that you could not do
17 an evaluation -----
18
19 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think that was just that you were not able
20 to get enough information to form your own evaluation; is
21 that what you meant?
22 A. Can I give an example? An artificial sweetener called
23 Acesulfame-K was permitted on to the British market in the
24 early 80s -----
25
26 Q. You can keep it fairly short. Is it just that you could
27 not get sufficient information yourself to evaluate the
28 appropriate body's judgment on it?
29 A. Yes, and I could not get it because it simply is not in
30 the public domain.
31
32 MS. STEEL: But does that just relate to the manufacturer of
33 the product or does that relate to testing as well?
34 A. No, it refers to the testing. This does not apply to
35 any of the compounds at stake in these proceedings; the
36 problem of secrecy applies to others.
37
38 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do all the compounds with which we are
39 concerned fall into one or other of the categories which
40 you divided, the 299 and then later the 419?
41 A. Yes, they all fall into those categories.
42
43 Q. Do they all fall into the same category or do they fall
44 into different categories?
45 A. They fall into different categories. I would not say
46 secrecy was particularly a problem in relation to any of
47 those, with, perhaps, the exception of amaranth where, for
48 example, as I recall, in giving his evidence Professor
49 Walker indicated that he had privileged access to some
50 recent toxicological data which I have not yet been able to
51 see. But I have otherwise -----
52
53 Q. If you come to the individual compounds it might help if
54 you (and it will only take one sentence) tell me which
55 category you say they fall into ----
56 A. Fine.
57
58 Q. -- at the end of the day because, although it may be
59 necessary to look at the modus operandi of these bodies in
60 order to make such decisions that I have to in this case,
