THE Department of Health is to start testing baby formula milk following claims in Britain that leading brands contain chemicals which could impair fertility.
A testing programme on the main brands available here will start shortly, a Department spokeswoman said yesterday. This is despite an insistence by the Department's Food Safety Advisory Board that the levels of chemicals involved - known as phthalates - are "negligible".
The board meets on Wednesday to decide what advice to give to the Minister for Health and the public.
"There isn't enough of these chemicals in baby milk products to do any harm," the spokeswoman insisted last night. She estimated the levels were about one hundredth of the amount that could prove harmful.
The Consumers' Association of Ireland has criticised the Government for relying until now on British advice.
The spokeswoman for the Department of Health said the tests would be completed within a few weeks.