§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what advice he has received regarding the noxious effects of the gluten in gluten-reduced foods on patients suffering from coeliac disease; and what steps his Department takes to inform doctors and patients of the foods which are gluten-free.
§ Sir George YoungMy right hon. Friend has been advised that recommended products in which residual gluten is at a very low level are as safe and beneficial to the coeliac sufferer as recommended products which are totally gluten-:Free. The Department does not inform doctors and patients directly about foods which are suitable for coeliac sufferers; but the independent advisory committee on borderline substances has recommended a range of food products which may be regarded as drugs in the management of coeliac disease and which can, as a result, be provided on a National Health Service prescription. These recommendations are published in the204W borderline substances sections of the Drug Tariff, the British National Formulary and the Monthly Index of Medical Specialties—MIMS. The secretariat of the advisory committee on borderline substances has agreed to notify the Coeliac Society of the committee's recommendations on products which may be of benefit to coeliac sufferers and the Coeliac Society itself makes available to its members and to doctors and dieticians on request its own periodically revised list of gluten-free manufactured products.