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Written question asked by Lord Rooker (Labour) on Monday, 4 June 2018, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 18 June 2018. It was answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy (Conservative) on Wednesday, 13 June 2018 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.


Folic Acid

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen on 1 March (HL deb, col 789), what was the outcome of the review by the Committee on Toxicity of maximum intakes of folic acid.

Answer

At its April 2018 meeting, the Committee on the Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer products and the Environment (COT) considered a scoping paper on the current Tolerable Upper Level (TUL) of intake recommended for folic acid and the implications of the recently published paper Public health failure in the prevention of neural tube defects: time to abandon the tolerable upper intake level of folate by Wald et al. A copy is attached.

As the scientific database on the effects of folic acid is extensive and the science in several areas has developed significantly since the TUL was last considered in the early 2000s, the COT agreed that the basis of the current TUL for folic acid should be examined. The first detailed discussion paper will be considered at the next COT meeting in July 2018.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL8311
Session
2017-19
Attachment
HL8311_COT_paper
Related items
Health: Folate
Thursday, 1 March 2018
Oral answers to questions
House of Lords
Subjects
Folic acid Committee on Toxicity
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk