Huge inaccuracies in Food Safety Authorities Report on Fluoride poses a significant risk to the health and safety of consumers in Ireland’ says Scientist As part of its statutory responsibility to ensure the safety of food consumed, distributed, produced and sold on the Irish market, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) carried out a Total Diet Study (TDS) in which they calculated the exposure of the population to chemicals, including fluoride, based on chemical analysis of certain foods and beverages. The results of this study are being used as justification for continued fluoridation of drinking water supplies in Ireland by the Minister for Health and the Irish Expert Body on Fluoride and Health. According to recent written statements by the Minister according to this report the level of exposure to fluoride for consumers in Ireland from food and beverages and excluding water represents just 7.5% of the recommended safe upper limit as established by the European Food safety Authority. Environmental scientist and risk management consultant Declan Waugh previously wrote to the Minister and his Cabinet colleagues highlighting that these statements were widely inaccurate and scientifically incorrect. Waugh also wrote to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland seeking clarification and data on measured levels of chemicals in Irish food products and beverages. Prior to receiving this data the results were not accessible for public scrutiny. On receipt of the data Waugh said that the significance of the error was immediately obvious and stated that “it can now be demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that the FSAI data is not only incorrect but that the margin of error represents a clear concern for the health and safety of consumers in Ireland.” Waugh this week has again written to the Minister and his cabinet colleagues outlining the seriousness of the error as well as contacting Dr. Tony Holohan the Chief Medical officer in the Health Service Executive and Professor Alan Reilly Chief Executive Food Safety Authority of Ireland. According to Waugh the errors in the FSAI report represent a very significant margin of error and only highlights the concerns raised by the World Health Organization that prior to commencement of water fluoridation, authorities must accurately determine the total exposure of the population, including all sensitive subgroups in order to avoid overexposure to fluoride. Remarkable no such study was ever undertaken in Ireland in the past five decades since fluoridation began. The latest study by the FSAI, almost 50 years late, is the first attempt by the State to accurately measure the level of exposure in Ireland which according to Waugh is clearly scientifically flawed and erroneous. Waugh provides the following example, “according to published figures from the European Food Safety Authority and other noted scientific sources the fluoride content of tea can often exceed 5mg/l, especially when prepared with fluoridated tap water. This has been confirmed as accurate by independent testing of tea products sold in Ireland by Waugh. The FSAI reported fluoride levels in tea at levels below 0.8 mg/L, which is less than that present in tap water and is clearly incorrect”. According to Waugh similar errors were made for other foodstuffs and beverages. Scientific analysis of FSAI data has shown that the FSAI data has significantly underestimated the levels of fluoride being ingested and absorbed by the public including babies, children, sports enthusiasts and vulnerable people in Ireland by a minimum of a factor of ten and in some cases up to 18 times below the true level established by both independent testing and published data internationally. According to Waugh “there is no question but that the true level of exposure of the Irish population to fluoride has been significantly underestimated by the FSAI. The data has been checked against UK, EU and US data on fluoride levels in foodstuffs and against independent tests conducted in Ireland. ” Mr Waugh said “the results of this erroneous study are now being incorrectly used by Health Minister James Reilly T.D. and the Irish Expert Body on Fluoride and Health to justify the continued mandatory fluoridation of Irish drinking water. This is a gross mistake and measures need to be taken to rectify this immediately”. Declan Waugh also stated that, “the failure to conduct any tests in the previous decades and the collection of erroneous data for the 2011 report has resulted in authorities being unaware of the massive over-exposure to fluorides that is present in Ireland. The unsafe levels of exposure, for which fluoridation of water is a major contributor, is undoubtedly a major contributor to the huge increase in the burden of many diseases present in Ireland today, as I have noted in scientific reports I have submitted to Government” Further he added “given the true level of exposure to fluoride of the Irish public this constitutes a serious risk to the public health and safety, especially when one considers the potential health risks as documented by the U.S. National Academies in their 2006 report on fluoride. This report highlighted the potential of fluoride to contribute to cancer, diabetes, musculoskeletal diseases, genetic disorders, thyroid and respiratory disorders as well as neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s” This latest finding he said “provides further clear evidence that the systemic exposure of the population to fluoride via fluoridation of drinking water is unsafe as the individual dose cannot be controlled and the authorities appear incapable of undertaking an accurate scientific risk assessment. The only way to limit this risk is to stop fluoridation of public water supplies immediately, as other European countries have done”. Mr Waugh’s reports are currently being used internationally by opponents of fluoridation in the few countries that still support such a policy. Last month the Minister for Health in Israel introduced legislation to end mandatory fluoridation, while in the past few weeks reviews in Portland, Oregon USA, Windsor City Canada and Hamilton City New Zealand have also overwhelmingly rejected water fluoridation, while fourteen regional local authorities in Australia have also terminated the policy since the beginning of the year. Ends Media: To arrange an interview with Declan Waugh or for additional information on the points raised above please contact: Declan Waugh, T: 023 8841933; M: 086-3853363 E: [email protected] To view the latest report examining the epidemiological data demonstrating the health impacts of water fluoridation on the population of Ireland goto enviro.ie
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 13:07:52 +0000
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