Arsenic in Baby Formula
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
I append a portion of the text of SACN’s report on Feeding in the First Year of Life
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk...
SACN-Report-on-feeding-in-the-first-year-of-life 16/290
Arsenic
Overall, the inorganic arsenic exposures Statement on potential risks from arsenic
for exclusively breastfeed or formula fed in the diet of infants aged 0 to 12 months
UK infants aged 0 to 4 months generated and children aged 1 to 5 years (2016)
Margins of Exposure (MOEs) that were https://cot.food.gov.uk/sites/default/ files/finalstatementonarsenic_0.pdf
generally greater than 10 and would therefore
be considered of low concern. There could
be a small risk to high level consumers of
infant formula that has been reconstituted
with water containing a high level of inorganic
arsenic as this scenario generated MOEs that
were marginally less than 10. Total exposure
to inorganic arsenic, from dietary and non-dietary
sources, in infants and young children aged 4 to 12
months and 1 to 5 years generally generated MOEs
of less than 10 and could therefore pose a risk to
health. When comparing the estimated exposures
from different sources, it becomes apparent that in
these age groups, dietary sources generally contribute
more significantly to exposure than non-dietary sources
such as soil and dust. It is therefore reiterated that
efforts to reduce the levels of inorganic arsenic in
food and water should continue.
NHS Choices recommends tap water should be used to make up baby formula. This is because bottled water contains too much sodium and too many sulphates. (This belief is incorrect, by the way, as an analysis of bottled water labels and Water Company water quality reports will prove.)
From 2023, if the Government initiates Water Fluoridation in the North East of England and then proceeds to other areas progressively, all formula-fed babies will be given fluoridated water to make up their formula.
The British Standard 12175:2013 lists arsenic as a chemical parameter in the hexafluorosilicic acid which is used to add fluoride to drinking water.
An analysis of the concentration of arsenic in I litre of fluoridated water shows that up to 25% of the maximum allowable arsenic is present in hexafluorosilicic acid added when fluoridating tap water. That’s in addition to any arsenic which was present in the raw water prior to treatment and which could not be removed by normal water treatment processes.
Thus, the practice of water fluoridation increases the concentration of arsenic in tap water which is used to make up baby formula. SACN’s advice is “It is therefore reiterated that efforts to reduce the levels of inorganic arsenic in .food and water should continue.”
1. Is the Department of Health and Social Care/OHID aware of this state of affairs?
2. Is the deliberate addition of arsenic to drinking water in contravention of SACN’s recommendations?
Yours faithfully,
Joy Warren
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
At the beginning of my request, because of the failure of the form letter to retain formatting, the message has become garbled. Originally in two columns, the second column should read:
"Statement on potential risks from arsenic in the diet of infants aged 0 to 12 months
and children aged 1 to 5 years (2016). https://cot.food.gov.uk/sites/default/fi... "
Thus, the 1st para should now read:
Overall, the inorganic arsenic exposures
for exclusively breastfed or formula fed UK infants
aged 0 to 4 months generated
MOEs that were generally greater than
10 and would therefore be considered of
low concern. There could be a small risk
to high level consumers of infant
formula that has been reconstituted .......
Joy Warren
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References
Visible links
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2. https://www.gov.uk/
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
4. https://www.nhs.uk/
5. https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
6. https://www.gov.uk/getting-tested-for-co...
7. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-the-gov...
8. https://www.supplychain.nhs.uk/
9. https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
10. mailto:[email address]
11. https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-t...
12. https://enquiries.test-and-trace.nhs.uk/...
13. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
14. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
This is an acknowledgement - please do not reply to this email.
Thank you for contacting the Department of Health and Social Care.
If your enquiry is in relation to the pandemic, the Government has
launched a COVID-19 ‘hub’, which can be found
at [1]www.gov.uk/coronavirus and is regularly updated.
The answers to many other questions can be found on [2]GOV.UK,
the [3]Department of Health and Social Care website or by visiting
the [4]NHS website. We may not respond to you if the answer to your
enquiry can be found on either of these websites. Where a reply is
appropriate, we aim to send a response within 20 working days.
Please note that the department cannot arrange vaccinations. [5]This
webpage gives information on vaccination. You can also contact your GP,
clinical commissioning group or call 119.
If you have symptoms of COVID-19 you must get tested as soon as possible.
The swab test takes less than a minute and is pain-free. Results from test
sites are generally received within 24 hours of the test being
administered. Further information, including what symptoms to look out
for, can be found [6]here.
If your business is interested in helping the Government increase
COVID-19 testing capacity, please visit [7]this webpage. Please note that
the service that was set up for businesses to offer other COVID-19 support
has closed. If you have a product to sell to the NHS, please visit
[8]https://www.supplychain.nhs.uk/.
Since 15 February 2021, anyone travelling to the UK from a red-list
country has been required to quarantine in a managed quarantine facility
for a period of ten days. There will be periods where no countries are
listed, but the red list remains ready to be stood up should the global
epidemiological situation change. In these circumstances, there is
guidance available on a range of queries.
To find out how to apply for a medical or compassionate exemption, please
visit
[9]www.gov.uk/guidance/exemptions-from-managed-quarantine-for-compassionate-reasons.
If you have been in quarantine and have a complaint about the hotel,
please raise your concerns with the hotel itself in the first instance. If
your complaint is unresolved, please email the complaints team at
[10][email address].
If you are writing in connection with an NHS or social care service please
note that the department does not manage health and social services
directly, nor does it process complaints. It also cannot give clinical
advice or intervene in matters concerning patient care or social services.
If you wish to make a complaint about a healthcare professional, an NHS
organisation or a social care provider, please visit [11]this link.
If you would like to raise your concerns about a COVID-19 testing
provider, or have any other NHS Test and Trace enquiries, you can
contact [12]NHS Test and Trace enquiries, feedback and complaints.
Our [13]Personal information charter and [14]privacy notice explain how we
treat your personal information.
This e-mail and any attachments is intended only for the attention of the
addressee(s). Its unauthorised use, disclosure, storage or copying is not
permitted. If you are not the intended recipient, please destroy all
copies and inform the sender by return e-mail. Any views expressed in this
message are not necessarily those of the Department of Health and Social
Care. Please note: Incoming and outgoing email messages are routinely
monitored for compliance with our policy on the use of electronic
communications.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
2. https://www.gov.uk/
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
4. https://www.nhs.uk/
5. https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
6. https://www.gov.uk/getting-tested-for-co...
7. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-the-gov...
8. https://www.supplychain.nhs.uk/
9. https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
10. mailto:[email address]
11. https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-t...
12. https://enquiries.test-and-trace.nhs.uk/...
13. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
14. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
Dear Ms Warren,
Please find attached the Department of Health and Social Care's response
to your recent FOI request (our ref: FOI-1425025).
Yours sincerely,
Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care
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