§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list the proportion of gluten in each of the gluten-free foods which can be prescribed on the National Health Service;
(2) what gluten-free foods are prescribed on the National Health Service;
(3) for what diseases gluten-free foods may be prescribed on the National Health Service;
(4) if he will increase the number of foods which are prescribed on the National Health Service as gluten-free which in fact contain no gluten; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MoyleFamily doctors in the National Health Service are free to prescribe whatever drugs or medicines they consider necessary for their patients although they may be called upon to justify their prescribing decisions. However, patients who are living at home should not be supplied with foods at Health Service expense.
Some foods have the characteristics of a drug in relation to particular conditions but it is for an independent professional 570W body, the Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances, to advise doctors and the Health Departments as to whether a food should be regarded as a drug for the management of a given complaint.
The committee has recommended that a range of products should be regarded as drugs in relation to:
- Gluten-sensitive enteropathies, including steatorrhoea due to gluten sensitivity,
- coeliac disease and
- dermatitis herpetiformis.
The products are:
- Aglutella Gentili—anellini, rigatoni, tagliatelle, spaghetti, stelline;
- Aproten Products—anellini, crispbread, ditalini, flour, riganti, spaghetti, tagliatelle;
- Bi-Aglut Biscuits;
- Farley's Biscuits;
- Glutenex (Liga);
- Juvela gluten-free mix;
- Nutregen wheat starch;
- Rite Diet-flour, bread mix, sweet (without chocolate) and savoury biscuits, gluten free/protein free bread;
- Verkade Dutch Food Biscuits.
The list is published to doctors.
The Committee has recommended specifically that Cantaflour and Rite-Diet gluten-free canned rich fruit cake and half-coated chocolate biscuits should not be regarded as drugs.
I understand that the products recommended as drugs conform to the requirement of the international Codex Alimentarius Commission that not more than 0.8 per cent of residual cereal protein should be present in flour which is claimed to be gluten-free. I understand also that a totally gluten-free product would be no more safe or beneficial in the management of the conditions I have listed than one which conforms to this standard.