Day 016 - 22 Jul 94 - Page 54
1 Q. Are you aware of whether there are any concerns about the
health risks to young children from these additives?
2 A. No, I am not aware there would be any concern about
that at all because these would be -- these are foods,
3 these are generally available foods and, of course, in the
normal home they could be mashed up or, you know, used in
4 the diet of children of a very young age and nobody, to my
mind, is concerned about that aspect of it at all.
5
Q. Are you able to say there are no definitely no concerns
6 about health in relation to giving these -----
A. Again it depends who you are referring to. My
7 understanding is there is not a concern amongst the
regulatory authorities.
8
Q. Not at all?
9 A. Not that I am aware of.
10 Q. Going on to nitrates, you have said that the SCF is,
understandably, cautious about the use of nitrates.
11 A. Yes, this is a topic which has been subject to fairly
endless debate about the pros and cons, yes.
12
Q. So if there is concern about this, why is it not banned?
13 A. Because it is a matter of weighing up the advantages
against the disadvantages. Again, as we covered a couple
14 of days ago, it has been established that it is very
effective as a preventative against clostridium botulinum
15 which is the pathogenic organism responsible for
botulism.
16
On the other hand, as you will see on the top of page 72,
17 when we looked at the levels that there are in the typical
diets of vegans and of lacto over vegetarians, they
18 actually consume much higher levels than are found in the
diet of omnivores. I mean, I am not aware of any
19 evidence.
20 Q. Are you relying on this study?
A. Oh, this is a thorough study conducted by the Ministry
21 of Agriculture.
22 Q. Can we have a copy then, please?
A. Well, we can arrange for one to be made available,
23 yes.
24 Q. Of course, if there are a lot nitrates in vegetables,
where would they come from?
25 A. Well, it is a normal constituent.
26 Q. The large quantities of them, are they something to do
with fertilizer residues?
27 A. That may influence the amount that is present in them
but, I mean, there is no doubt that they -- nitrate is a
28 naturally occurring product in these foods and that, to
the best of my knowledge, there is never any suggestion
29 that people who eat these diets suffer any ill health in
any way from them.
30
Q. There is an increased amount of nitrates because of modern
