Day 206 - 22 Jan 96 - Page 05
1 pleadings.
2
3 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
4
5 MR. ATKINSON: Then if one goes through, to be honest, they tend
6 to be general remarks about additives rather than relating
7 to the specific ones that are relied on.
8
9 What I have not done is a complete list of every reference
10 to where he does refer to one which has been cited, but
11 what I can say is that there are not very many, not more
12 than a few references to the particular ones that have been
13 listed. It is really very general.
14
15 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I take your point, but do you have a
16 reference to him having put in evidence already the figures
17 which you have just referred to, one to five per cent, in
18 his evidence?
19
20 MR. ATKINSON: Yes, I do. I can give your Lordship a complete
21 list of references to every reference that was made.
22
23 MR. JUSTICE BELL: All I would like you to do is read out, if
24 you have it there, where he says that there have been
25 surveys which have suggested that between one and five
26 per cent of children, or the population, or whatever it is,
27 are intolerant to some additives.
28
29 MR. ATKINSON: Yes. There is a reference on page 55 of day 38.
30
31 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Which date is that?
32
33 MR. ATKINSON: That is 19th October 1994. What he says there --
34 I will just read to your Lordship -- Mr. Morris asks: "What
35 figure would you give?" and then the answer from
36 Dr. Millstone is: "As I have suggested, for the population
37 as a whole, that is, children and adults, I doubt that the
38 incidence is lower than that one per cent and it is
39 probably not higher than five per cent, but intolerance,
40 and particularly hyperactivity, is more common amongst
41 children than adults, in my experience, and the incidence
42 among children conceivably might be as high as 10 per cent
43 or that order of magnitude. But that is simply an informed
44 guess based on 20 years of scrutinising the data and being
45 in contact with such individuals, and not supported by
46 particular studies which I deem to be reliable."
47 Mr. Morris says: "So, your best figure would be between one
48 and five per cent for all the intolerances?" The answer
49 is: "For all the additives in all the population." Then
50 your Lordship says: "That is not just restricted to the
51 additives listed here; that is all additives in food?" The
52 answer is: "That is correct. It is unlikely, it is very
53 rare, in my experience, for people to be intolerant to some
54 colours, but not either amaranth or sunset yellow."
55
56 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What he has done is added references to what
57 he said he had thought was his personal experience.
58
59 MR. ATKINSON: Yes, but he has also come up with a further
60 figure which, in my submission, is less helpful, perhaps,
