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Close Topic OptionsE U Food Supplements Directive
E Food Supplements Directive - Politics, Business, Civil, History - Posted: 15th Jul, 2005 - 5:02pm
Posts: 2 - Views: 1125
E U Food Supplements Directive
The EU has been working on this issue for quite some time. I remember hearing about it a couple of years ago. They have voted to ban food supplements (vitamins and minerals) deemed to be "high dose" amounts. This will have far-reaching implications, and not just in the health food industry. Millions of people, maybe billions, use supplements as an every day health boost, while many thousands use them to battle certain diseases, like cancer. To ban them means that these will now be available only by prescription - or not at all.
From CNN:
| QUOTE |
| The European Food Supplements Directive, due to come into effect on 1 August 2005, could pull more than 200 vitamins and minerals off the shelves, including vitamin C, manganese and sulphur. The controversial decision on the ban was made on Tuesday, despite pressure from health food manufacturers. The HFMA say that with up to 5000 products affected, the move could lead to revenue losses of up to 60 per cent for some health food manufacturers and retailers. ...Any manufacturer wishing to submit a supplement for approval by the EU must produce a detailed dossier outlining its safety and toxicity. The UK Food Standards Agency received dossiers on more than 500 ingredients by the time the EU ban was announced yesterday. ...The directive comes at a time when consumer faith in certain supplements has been declining. Sales of single vitamins in the UK fell by 14 per cent in 2004 following fears over high doses of vitamin A. Popular favorites St. John's Wort and Ginseng, have also suffered falling sales in the past year. |
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Directive Supplements Food E
| QUOTE |
| Any manufacturer wishing to submit a supplement for approval by the EU must produce a detailed dossier outlining its safety and toxicity. |
In my opinion, this decision is not necessarily bad. If after a careful examination of the supplements dossier, they conclude that the product is harmless and it's OK to be used without prescription, then I think this is just another thing to ensure public safety. After all, there could be found dangerous products which need to be taken only under medical supervision or with a medical recommendation. Yeah, you may say that the european bureaucrats are "working" again, but if, in the end, the useful products are back on the shelves and the process of evaluation doesn't take too long, well than the decision is acceptable.
| Offtopic but, In my practice, as a dentist, I see too many cases where patients take unnecessary, useless or even more, harmful, unrecommended drugs before they come to be consulted. Unfortunately, those drugs are sold without prescription |
Edited: RaulDrake on 15th Jul, 2005 - 5:13pmInternational Level: New Activist / Political Participation: 19 1.9%
TOPIC: E U Food Supplements Directive