§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the Government's guidance ont he sale of the amino polysaccharide Chitosan as a slimming product; [18590]
(2) what clinical trials his Department has evaluated in respect of the (a) safety and (b) effectiveness of the amino polysaccharide sold as Chitosan for slimming purposes. [18588]
§ Ms JowellThe sale of Chitosan is not controlled by the Foods Intended for Use of Energy Restricted Diets for Weight Reduction Regulations 1997. Chitosan is classed as a food product and as such it is covered by the general provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990, which provides that all foods shall be safe, of the quality intended and not misleadingly labelled.
The Department is not aware of any clinical trials of this product.