Day 252 - 20 May 96 - Page 21


     
     1
     2   Q.   Which report on salt and hypotension are you talking about
     3        there?
     4        A.  There was a British Nutrition Foundation one on salt
     5        and hypotension, which was very similar to other ones that
     6        have come out in its conclusions.
     7
     8   Q.   What was the conclusion of that report then?
     9        A.   Well, very much as I have stated in my own report and,
    10        that was that the intake of salt, salt consumption in this
    11        country and in most countries, is very much greater than
    12        our physiological requirements.  Whether that is a good or
    13        bad thing is the matter that is in dispute.  The only way
    14        you can determine that is to look at the effect of reducing
    15        salt consumption, and the general conclusions that have
    16        come out of intervention studies where people have been
    17        persuaded to reduce their salt consumption seem to show
    18        that in normal tensive people, people with normal heart,
    19        normal blood pressure, changing salt intake has no
    20        appreciable effect on their blood pressure.  On people who
    21        suffer from heart disease, a change in salt intake, a
    22        reduction in salt intake, may prove beneficial, but this
    23        appears to be very much related to one's genetics.  Some
    24        people respond to salt and some people do not, and that is
    25        really the present situation.
    26
    27   Q.   Did you say what the Food and Drink Federation were?
    28        A.  Food and drink federation?  No, this is a body that
    29        represents the food industry as a whole and they tend to
    30        respond to statements that are coming out from Government,
    31        directives that are coming out from Brussels, for example,
    32        and they have a considerable input into the deliberations
    33        of committees in Brussels and in Government and these can
    34        be very useful because the food industry is looking at the
    35        practical side of producing food, distributing it to
    36        people, and hopefully educating people, whereas bureaucrats
    37        in Government or in Brussels do not have the same
    38        experience.  They could make a recommendation, for example,
    39        that was totally impracticable.  So, this is a feedback
    40        virtually through the food industry, through the Food and
    41        Drink Federation and, again, like the BNF they have a
    42        scientific advisory committee.
    43
    44   Q.   Are you paid for being on those committees?
    45        A.   No, no.
    46
    47   Q.   Is your income in part or in total from the food industry?
    48        A.   No.  No, it is not.  My income, now that I have
    49        officially retired, is from my official university
    50        pension.  I also have a consultancy in the food industry. 
    51        I have very few consultancies because to do the job 
    52        properly takes a lot of time, and as an academic very much 
    53        involved in research I did not have a great deal of time to
    54        spend on it.  I do have two consultancies with the food
    55        industry.
    56
    57   Q.   Right.  And you will be paid by them for that?
    58        A.   Yes, yes.  I think it is important to recognise that a
    59        consultant is somebody who provides information and advice
    60        to the food industry and, hopefully, they take it.  It is

Prev Next Index