§ 32. Mr. H. Hyndasked the Minister of Food which chemicals will be extracted from flour in order to make the 28 new white loaf; and which chemicals will be added to it.
Dr. HillI would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. and gallant Friend to my hon. Friend the Member for Spelthorne (Mr. Beresford Craddock) on 23rd February.
§ Mr. HyndDoes the Minister recall how he himself advised the public against this white flour, saying that it was just as dangerous to allow chemists to take out certain elements and to add others by artificial means as it would be to allow a milkman to skim the milk or the butcher to paint his meat with chemicals to make it look better?
Dr. HillI recall that many times, in comparing pre-war white flour with higher extraction flour during and since the war, I emphasied that the higher extraction flour was a much healthier flour. What is now proposed is that there should be at the subsidised price a high extraction flour and also, if the public choose to buy it, a 70 per cent. extraction flour to which have been added three important nutrients to bring its nutritional condition up to that of the high extraction flour.
§ Mr. WoodburnWill the Minister arrange for an appreciation by the Medical Research Council of the effects of different flours on the health of the people?
§ Mr. HyndDoes the Parliamentary Secretary recall that he went further, and said that he challenged the statement that it was possible for chemists to bring the nutritional value of white flour up to that of the other, and that he said that it would be an invitation to ill-health?
Dr. HillIn my view, the national bread at the high extraction rate is still healthier than the flour to which additions have been made but, by those additions, the margin of difference has been greatly narrowed. The public are offered the choice between the two.
§ Mr. HastingsWhat steps is the Parliamentary Secretary taking to inform the public of the dangers that they run when they buy the 70 per cent. extraction flour and the bread made from it?
Dr. HillThere are no substantial dangers attached to the 70 per cent. extraction flour to which the three nutrients have been added so as to bring it up to the level of the 80 per cent. flour.
§ 33. Mr. H. Hyndasked the Minister of Food the chemical composition of flour now in use, as compared with the white flour which will soon be available for bread.
Dr. HillAs the reply contains a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
| CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF REPRESENTATIVE FLOURS | ||||
| Nutrients per 100 g. | Extraction Rate | |||
| 80 per cent. National (including added calcium carbonate) | 70–72 per cent. (unrestored) | 70–72 per cent. (restored) (including added calcium carbonate) | ||
| Energy value (calories) | … | 341.0 | 343.0 | 343.0 |
| Carbohydrate (g.) | … | 70.2 | 72.0 | 72.0 |
| Protein (g.) | … | 11.7 | 11.3 | 11.3 |
| Fat (g.) | … | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| Calcium (mg.) | … | 143.0 | 16.0 | 142.0 |
| Iron (mg.) | … | 1.65 | 1.25 | 1.65 |
| Vitamin B1 (mg.) | … | 0.24 | 0.08 | 0.24 |
| Nicotinic Acid (mg.) | … | 1.6 | 0.8 | 1.6 |
| Riboflavin (mg.) | … | 0.06 | 0.05 | 0.05 |
§ 49. Dr. Strossasked the Minister of Food how much iron will be available in one pound of the proposed white loaf; and how much is present in one pound of National bread.
Dr. HillAs recipes for bread-making vary, it is not possible to quote exact figures for the iron contents of different white breads, but any whiter flour produced after decontrol will have to contain the same quantity of iron as the present National flour, namely 7.5 milligrams per Ib. of flour.
§ Dr. StrossIs the Parliamentary Secretary aware that that amount of iron will be less than the amount in National bread? Will attempts be made to add iron, as has been done in many parts of America, and in any event will the Minister advertise to the public the desirability of avoiding this substitute bread as compared with the bread which we still can enjoy?
Dr. HillIf the hon. Member studies the figures given in the OFFICIAL REPORT in reply to Question No. 33, he will find
§ Mr. HyndDoes the Minister realise how difficult it is for the public to decide whether they should be advised in this matter by the Parliamentary Secretary in his previous capacity as "Radio Doctor" or by the "Radio Doctor" in his temporary capacity as Parliamentary Secretary?
Dr. HillWhen the hon. Gentleman studies the table he will find there is no inconsistency between the two.
§ Following is the information:
§ that the level of iron to be achieved in the new white flour is exactly the same as that contained in the National loaf.