§ Mr. Gareth WardellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what studies have been carried out into the possible carcinogenic properties of the pigment canthaxanthin.
§ Mr. MacleanThe results of carcinogenicity studies carried out on canthaxanthin are summarised in the
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Office January February March April May June July August September October Total North West Region 1,495 2,193 1,744 1,503 1,788 1,530 1,484 1,461 1,527 1,770 16,495 Belle Vale 17 22 20 15 31 19 25 10 12 16 187 Bootle 25 37 30 30 51 29 30 21 21 18 292 Breckfield 54 38 23 16 7 18 19 20 38 27 260 City 5 15 9 13 13 17 9 8 5 5 99 Crosby 13 35 30 20 38 17 17 19 25 18 232 Edgehill 23 33 13 17 30 16 19 17 11 16 195 Garston 17 6 16 11 25 11 15 18 15 9 143 Huyton 21 42 30 16 43 22 26 25 30 21 276 Kirkby 31 63 24 21 38 23 22 20 20 19 281 St. Helens 83 84 118 79 99 86 86 109 68 96 908 Toxteth 9 21 6 12 13 21 18 9 14 7 130 West Derby 16 14 14 12 16 17 4 4 4 20 121 Southport 8 11 11 8 20 5 11 4 14 21 113 monograph drawn up by the FAO-WHO joint expert committee on food additives. The monograph was recently published and a copy is being placed in the Library of the House.
The United Kingdom expert committees do not consider canthaxanthin to be a carcinogen but are concerned that canthaxanthin can form deposits in the human retina.
I summarised the Government's action on canthaxanthin in my reply to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) on 4 November 1990 at column 64.