§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what consideration has been given by United Kingdom approved authorities to bans on the use of E124 ponceau 4R in Norway and the United States for reasons of health risk to asthmatics, in relation to permitting use in the United Kingdom;
(2) what consideration has been given to bans on the use of E110 sunset yellow colouring in Norway and Finland by United Kingdom approved authorities in relation to permitting use in the United Kingdom;
(3) what consideration has been given by United Kingdom approved authorities to bans on the use of E104 quinine yellow food additive in Norway, the United States, Australia and Japan for reasons of hyperactivity, in relation to permitting use in the United Kingdom.
§ Mrs. BrowningWe are aware that the colours E104, E110 and E120 can give rise to adverse reactions in a small minority of the population. Nevertheless, each of these colours has been assessed as acceptable for use in food both by United Kingdom and by EC expert scientific committees, and they are listed as permitted colours in the EU colours directive.
As a general rule we do not ban the use of food additives which may cause intolerance reactions to a small number of individuals. But statutory ingredient labelling requires the presence of colours to be declared—and this should enable affected individuals to avoid food containing additives to which they react.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what consideration has been given by the United Kingdom approval authorities232W to the use of food colourings by Messrs Mars in their food product M &Ms.
§ Mrs. BrowningAll the food colourings used in this product have been subject to safety evaluations by expert scientific committees both in the United Kingdom and in the European Union. Such evaluations form the basis of food additive regulation.