Day 040 - 21 Oct 94 - Page 41
1 the government's view that surveys suggest about one child
2 in 10 is affected by food allergies?
3 A. Yes.
4
5 Q. And 20 per cent of those would continue to have those
6 allergies?
7 A. That seems to be what they are saying, beyond the age
8 of five.
9
10 Q. Yes, beyond the age of five, sorry. You say that many
11 people who have food allergies also have allergies to
12 additives?
13 A. Forgive me, Mr. Morris. I actually did put it the
14 other way around. I said a substantial majority of people
15 who react adversely to additives, also react adversely to
16 foods. I do not have figures to estimate the proportion of
17 the people who are allergic to foods who are also allergic
18 to additives, because if I had that I would be able to
19 provide a relatively precise estimate of the true incidence
20 of intolerance to additives. As I have already indicated,
21 I am not yet in a position to do so.
22
23 Q. Also in that document Mr. Rampton missed out on page 5 --
24 I cannot read the page numbers -- 4 of that document?
25 A. What is the heading on the page?
26
27 Q. "What about food additives?" When he said about how much
28 people like to have the additives or he was implying, it
29 says at the bottom here: "Some artificial colours, for
30 instance, have almost disappeared as companies realise that
31 many customers prefer ice cream or desserts to contain
32 natural colours". Is that something that ----
33 A. My understanding from my contacts with the food
34 industry is that size of the market for synthetic colours
35 declined quite rapidly from about 85 onwards, particularly
36 because retailers who took the initiative rather than
37 manufacturers, recognised that there was a growing desire
38 amongst consumers in this country for less reliance on
39 synthetic colours. To some extent there has been a
40 tendency to sell foods that are less brightly coloured, and
41 to some extent there has been a substitution of what are
42 natural colours for synthetics. So, there has been both a
43 decline in the proportion of the food supplied which is
44 coloured at all, but there has also been a shift within
45 those that are coloured to some extent from synthetics to
46 natural ingredients.
47
48 Q. That would apply, would it, for example, to McDonald's milk
49 shakes?
50 A. I do not know ----
51
52 Q. They would not wish to, as the government seems to think
53 that many people have already shifted?
54 A. Well, some parts of the industry have shifted and some
55 have not.
56
57 Q. Just on that page it might be worth pointing out that the
58 government considers that Sunset Yellow does cause
59 reactions?
60 A. They do, yes.
