Day 031 - 05 Oct 94 - Page 33
1 communicated to the public at large.
2
3 Q. Who are they funded by?
4 A. It is funded entirely -- I presume entirely -- but
5 certainly the bulk of the money is from the British food
6 industry, as I have mentioned.
7
8 Q. So they recommended a reduction in total fat, you say, to
9 decrease the risk of developing cancer?
10 A. Yes.
11
12 Q. So as they are funded by the food industry, does that mean
13 that they are representative in some way of the food
14 industry, are they likely to take a -- what kind of
15 approach are they likely to take to giving this kind of
16 advice?
17 A. I have to say that the composition of these task
18 forces (which is what we are talking about really) is
19 quite different to the composition of the British
20 Nutrition Foundation. The British Nutrition Foundation
21 will call a task force of experts to discuss dietary
22 fibre, sugar, or whatever, then in this case unsaturated
23 fatty acids, and the list of experts that are called for
24 this represents, I think, a good spectrum of academics
25 which, in fact, cover the fields under discussion from
26 this country. It also involved a wide range of experts
27 from other countries, from the United States of America,
28 Norway, Sweden and so on. But the industry itself had no
29 hand in the discussions nor in the production of the
30 report apart from paying the bill. It is true that there
31 are quoted here ----
32
33 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is paragraph 16.24, is it, the
34 conclusions that you are referring to?
35 A. That is correct.
36
37 Q. On page 124.
38 A. That is the relevant comment, your Lordship.
39
40 Q. Is that, in your view, an accurate -- it will be my
41 emphasis when I speak -- that is a fair summary, is it, on
42 the basis of the evidence available from the experimental
43 and epidemiological studies? It appears that a reduction
44 in total fat intake may -- that is my emphasis -- decrease
45 the risk of developing cancer?
46 A. That is the -- those are the carefully chosen words
47 which the committee wrote or agreed to write on this
48 aspect. I was a member of the committee and I would agree
49 with them. I would put it slightly stronger than that. I
50 think the Scottish Office put it slightly stronger than
51 that as well.
52
53 MS. STEEL: Perhaps if we turn then to the Scottish paper,
54 which is your enclosure 3. Do you have that?
55 A. Which page?
56
57 Q. I think we actually served two pages on separate
58 occasions.
59 A. I have pages 32, 33 and 81.
60
