HL Deb 11 December 1997 vol 584 cc56-7WA
The Countess of Mar

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will list any published studies of vitamin B6 toxicity in animals of which they are aware and which specifically concluded that 50 mg per day should be the safety limit for human vitamin B6 supplementation; and whether they will summarise any representations which they have received on this matter from the authors of published papers relating to vitamin B6 toxicity in animals, indicating in each case the specific daily safety limits which such authors have advocated.

Baroness Jay of Paddington

The lists of studies which were considered by the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT), including both animal and human studies, have been placed in the Library. At a meeting on 8 September 1997, an edited transcript of which has been sent to the Government, Dr. Ian Munro, the author of an experimental study on vitamin B6 toxicity in dogs, suggested that 100 mg per day would not produce adverse effects in humans. This information did not cause the COT to change its advice.