Sir – The European Food Standards Authority (EFSA), the EU body that controls food standards, has approved fluoride as a food product.

This is very bizarre. Firstly, the classification of fluoride as a food is very dubious as it does not have any nutritional benefits.

We are told that fluoride prevents tooth decay; a claim I would not accept, but its classification as a medicine would make more sense.

If fluoride had been classified as a medicine then it would have had to undergo rigorous trials to prove its safety, which I believe it would have failed. Could this be why it has been ‘wrongly’ classified?

Anybody who has read the warnings on their fluoride toothpaste will discover “caution: do not swallow”. Hardly the stuff we should be adding to food supplements.

Not only has the EFSA approved this dangerous substance but they have proposed to ban hundreds of natural vitamin and mineral supplements in 2010. These are supplements that have been used for hundreds of years without any adverse effects.

It seems the EFSA is once again putting the wishes of the multi-national pharmaceutical companies before the health of the people.

Jason Smith, UKIP Bradford chairman, Woodlands Avenue, Queensbury, Bradford