§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his timetable in respect of implementing regulations for the sale of vitamin B6; and if he will make a statement. [22432]
§ Mr. RookerThe regulations required to implement the proposed controls on dietary supplements containing vitamin B6 are in the process of being drafted and we hope that it will be possible to issue them for consultation in early February. The European Commission will be notified of the draft regulations at the same time. The timing of the laying of the regulations before Parliament will depend on the outcome of the consultation exercise and the Commission's reaction to the proposals. The earliest date that they could be laid would be during May.
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§ Mr. TylerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will instruct the expert group recently constituted to assess the safety limits of vitamins and minerals to make examination of vitamin B6 a priority. [22571]
§ Mr. RookerThe Government have already received advice from independent expert Committees on the safety of vitamin B6 in dietary supplements, following the very thorough review of this issue which was carried out last year. There are, therefore, no plans to ask the new expert group to undertake a further review of the data on the safety of vitamin B6.