Earl Baldwin of Bewdleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many representations they have received since the beginning of July (a) supporting and (b) opposing the announcement that a restriction would be imposed on the retail sale of higher-dose Vitamin B6 supplements.
§ Lord DonoughueSince the beginning of July the Government has received approximately 6,500 items of correspondence concerning its proposed control on dietary supplements containing Vitamin B6. Much of this has been in the form of standard letters. No record has been kept of those supporting or opposing the proposed controls. However, almost all of the letters received have either opposed, questioned the basis of, or expressed reservations about the proposed controls.
Earl Baldwin of Bewdleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will ask the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment to review its advice on Vitamin B6 supplementation dosages with particular reference to safety margins appropriate to nutrients rather than poisons; and, if not, why not.
§ Lord DonoughueThe Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) has reviewed the data on the toxicity of Vitamin B6 on two separate occasions. The Government have every confidence in the rigour with which the COT reviewed the data and in the robustness of the recommendation it made. We see no reason to undertake a further review.
Since the statement from the COT regarding Vitamin B6 was published, the Chairman of the COT and his colleagues have heard arguments put forward which question their decision but have not been persuaded that this issue needs to be looked at for a third time.