A professor of toxicity has provided additional context to the comments he made in the Financial Times, in response to an investigation by that paper into the possible risks of lead contamination in the UK food chain.

Alan Boobis, professor of toxicity at Imperial College London and chair of the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products, and the Environment (COT), provided the additional context to Skipton and Ripon MP, Julian Smith, in response to a letter from Mr Smith to Professor Boobis requesting clarification.

The Financial Times had reported that 'more than 8,500 abandoned mines disperse toxic metals into the environment each year,' and Mr Smith has noted that 412 of these mines are in his constituency.

Speaking to the Financial Times in response to its original investigation, Professor Boobis had said: "There is a potential problem from lead exposure, the scale of which is currently unclear."

Clarifying to Mr Smith in a letter dated October 7, 2024, Professor Boobis said: "The main ... endpoint of concern for lead is developmental neurotoxicity in young children."

Professor Boobis additionally claimed: "The FSA is planning to review dietary lead as part of its risk analysis programme."

More information, including copies of the men's letters, is available at https://www.juliansmith.org.uk/news/professor-boobis-responds-mp-lead-contamination-uk-food-chain