HC Deb 20 February 1978 vol 944 cc479-80W
Mr. Skeet

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, of the estimated average quality of nitrates or nitrites ingested by people in East Anglia, what percentage is severally derived from drinking water, vegetables including spinach and rhubarb, food preservatives and other sources.

Mr. Moyle

Separate information on the quantity of nitrates and nitrites ingested by people in East Anglia is not available. A study in 1970 of available information indicated that vegetables may account for about half the intake, meat products one-quarter and drinking water the remaining quarter. The proportions will, of course, vary with the amounts present in the drinking water.