Day 021 - 29 Jul 94 - Page 09
1 government and within nutrition and to advise them as to
the kind of steps they might be taking, but when it comes
2 to actually implementing them, then that has to be a
question for the McDonald's people themselves because
3 there are other factors that come into play.
4 Q. When did this corporate healthy eating policy come in?
A. I think it was about two years ago.
5
Q. So 1992?
6 A. About that.
7 Q. One or two?
A. Yes, well, the Health of the Nation -- the DRV report
8 came out in 1991, I think, and the Health of the Nation
came out in 1992. It was shortly after that that the
9 corporate healthy eating policy was developed.
10 MR. MORRIS: Just before we go on to specific DRVs, are the
targets set by the DRVs ones which you personally think
11 a nutritionist would consider adequate?
A. Are you referring now specifically to the fats, fibre,
12 sugar?
13 Q. Yes, the ones we are talking about.
A. Not minerals and vitamins then?
14
Q. No, just the ones we are concentrating on.
15 A. Right. Yes, I think what there is -- the
recommendations that are in here, in my view anyway, are a
16 pretty good reflection of the current state of knowledge.
What is more, the recommendations here are pretty well in
17 line with recommendations that have been made by other
bodies and by other official reports all over the world.
18 Obviously, there can be minor variations. Some will say
it should be 30 per cent fat instead of 35 per cent. At
19 the end of the day, different people or different groups
are likely to come up with slightly different judgments,
20 but in terms of the direction of change that is being
recommended for countries where the -- I mean, basically,
21 we are talking about most of the western industrialised
countries, but the recommendations coming through for the
22 direction of change is pretty well the same wherever you
looked, and this report on DRVs is very much in line with
23 all the others.
24 Q. What I am saying is, are the DRVs nutritional levels or
are they pragmatic levels in terms of what is achievable?
25 A. Well, to be perfectly frank, when you come to make
these recommendations, there has to be an element of
26 pragmatism in them. We do not -- we cannot actually do
specific investigations.
27
MR. JUSTICE BELL: Is that so? If I look at (iv) and (v) in
28 the glossary of terms, DRV is a term used to cover LRNI,
EAR and RNI. Then I look at what is there, they are
29 absolutes, are they not?
A. Yes, but I think -----
30
Q. They do not appear to pay any attention to whether
