Letter to Freedom of Information Act Office and
Response from FOIA Office
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION CONCERNING:
...Mineral content of water
...Health benefit/disbenefit of water
...Health claims for water
Jan. 10, 1995
Food And Drug Administration
Freedom of Information Act Office
HFI-35, Room 12A-16
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, Md. 20857
(301) 443-6310
Dear Sir or Ms:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
I request that I receive from you copies of documents obtained
by a complete and thorough search of all filing systems and
locations for all records maintained by your agency pertaining to
the mineral content of water, or health benefit/disbenefit of
water, or health claims concerning water. I also request the same
information concerning water-based beverages such as soft drinks
and beer. This search is to include any policy statements,
research, records, letters, media announcements, and reports, and
any other written materials. The time frame is Jan. 1, 1776 to
Jan. 15, 1995.
I also request any written materials adressed to, or from, or
copied to, or which mention, Dr. Elkan Blout, consultant to the
Commissioner of Food and Drugs, concerning water, other
beverages, magnesium, or calcium, during the period Jan. 1, 1985
to Jan. 12, 1995.
I also request specifically that I receive copies of any
communications on any of the above subjects to or from the
following entities:
any office of the FDA
any predecessor agency of the FDA, such as the American Medical
Association
the International Bottled Water Association
any predecessor to the International Bottled Water
Association
any associations related to water and water-based beverages, such
as soft drinks and beer
any bottlers or distributors of water and water-based beverages
such as soft drinks and beer
any owners or operators of water sources such as municipalities,
private water companies, wells, springs, streams, and bodies of
water
The American Water Works Association, or any other association of
water system operators
any other state, federal or local agency, including the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, or foreign governments, or any elected
or appointed official or judge of any state, local, or federal
entity
any other affected or interested private party
I also request all "see references" to these names, a search
of the ELSUR Index or any similar technique for locating records
of electronic surveillance.
Please place any "missing" files pertaining to this request on
"special locate" and advise that you have done this.
If documents are denied in part or in whole, please specify
which exemption(s) is(are) claimed for each passage or whole
document denied. Please provide a complete itemized inventory and
detailed factual justification of total or partial denial of
documents. Please specify the number of pages in each document
and the total number of pages pertaining to this request. For
classified material denied, please include the following
information: the classification rating (such as confidential,
secret, or top secret); identify the classifier; date or event
for automatic declassification, classification review, or
downgrading; if applicable, identify the official authorizing
extension or deferral of automatic declassification or review;
and, if applicable, give the reason for extended or deferred
classification.
I request that excised material be "blacked out" rather than
"whited out" or "cut out". I expect, as provided by the Freedom
of Information Act, that the remaining non-exempt portions of
documents will be released.
Please send a memo (copy to me) to the appropriate units in
your office or agency to assure that no records related to this
request are destroyed. Please advise of any destruction of
records and include the date of and authority for such
destruction.
As I expect to appeal any denials, please specify the office
and address to which such an appeal should be directed.
I believe my request qualifies for a waiver of fees since the
release of the requested information would primarily benefit the
general public and be "in the public interest" for these
reasons:
The attached research papers, "Calculations of American Deaths
Caused By Magnesium Deficiency As Projected From International
Data" and the paper, "A Short History Of The Magnesium Deficiency
Catastrophe In The United States", strongly suggests that 8
million Americans have died from magnesium deficiency since 1940,
and that these 8 million deaths are in large part due to the
actions of the FDA since 1940 and the actions of the FDA's
functional predecesssor, the American Medical Association since
about 1880, in that these agencies did discourage and disparage
the consumption of minerals in water so that now American bottled
waters contain only 15% as much magnesium as European bottled
waters, and, unlike Europe, consumption of low-TDS municipal
water has been encouraged and approved by the FDA in the U.S.
These policies have apparently killed 8 million Americans since
1940.
This subject is a matter of "genuine public interest" in that
hundreds of messages on this subject have been posted and
exchanged on the Internet in the last three months, and the State
of California's Dept. of Health has been conducting a related
investigation, and this matter is the subject of a related
Citizen Petition to the FDA, Docket 94P-0361/CP1. Furthermore, as
author of the Citizen Petition and the articles previously cited,
I am qualified to interpret and disseminate the information to
the public, and my over-riding concern is the public interest of
preventing about 215,000 deaths per annum.
I can be reached at the phone listed below. Please call rather
than write if there are any questions or if you need additional
information from me.
I expect a response to this request within ten (10) working
days, as provided for in the Freedom Of Information Act.
Sincerely,
Paul W. Mason
encl:
1. Calculations of American Deaths Caused By Magnesium
Deficiency, As Projected From International Data
2. A Short History of The Magnesium Catastrophe In The United
States
3. Citizen Petition to the FDA, Docket 94P-0361/CP1
Response from FDA to Freedom of Information Request
Dear Mr. Mason:
This is in response to your Freedom of Information request
(copy enclosed) dated January 10, 1995, and a subsequent letter
(copy enclosed), dated February 19, 1995, in which you narrowed
the scope of your request specifying that you wished to receive
"copies of the FDA's correspondence concerning water, water-based
beverages and magnesium to/from the American Medical Association,
International Bottled Water Association in the time frame of
January 1, 1993, to February 19, 1995."
Documents were sent to you March 10, 1995, from the Food and
Drug Administration's Executive Secretariat's files, assessing
charges of $55.60.
In response to your amended request, FDA's Center for Food
Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) has conducted a search of
its files for responsive documents. Responsive documents
constituting approximately 1,000 pages has been located.
CFSAN expended twentyfour (24) hours locating all the
responsive documents at a charge of $784.00 for search time.
CFSAN estimates that reviewing the documents for release will
cost $520.00. The total estimated cost for CFSAN personnel,
including the charges for reproduction, search and review is
$1304.00.
An invoice for $1462.85, which includes the information sent
to you on March 10, 1995, and the estimated charges from CFSAN is
enclosed with this letter, as prepayment is required for charges
over $250.00. If our estimate is higher than the final charge you
will be reimbursed for the difference; if the final charge is
higher than the estimated amount, you will be billed for that
amount.
Please send your payment to:
Food and Drug Administration
HFI-35
5600 Fishers Lane, 12A-16
Rockville, MD 20857
Sincerely yours,
Gerald H. Deighton
Director
Freedom of Information Staff
NOTE:
I have not paid the $1462.85. The FDA should release this
information to the public without fees, in the public
interest.
This page was first uploaded to The Magnesium Web Site on
September 30, 1995
http://www.mgwater.com/
Healthy Water
Association--USA