Food Supplements (Vitamins & Minerals) Could Disappear

The Food Supplements Directive has been finalised by the European Union and was published in the Official Journal on 12 July 2002. The Directive passed into law in England and Wales on 3rd July 2003, Scotland followed a few days later.

This is not a measure to protect consumers as the EU Regulators claim, the Directive is really designed to remove barriers to trade in food supplements across all 27 Member States. It is important to remember that this is a ‘framework’ Directive affecting just vitamins and minerals at this stage, but it provides for other categories of supplements to be included at a later date.

In principle we have always supported the removal of barriers to trade in supplements, but we remain extremely alarmed that the final wording of the Directive seriously threatens the future availability of huge number of safe, popular and beneficial vitamin and mineral supplements in the United Kingdom.

The Directive (in Article 5) makes provision for Maximum Permitted (dose) levels of nutrients in food supplements to be set by the European Union. Again, in principle, we are not opposed to this, but what worries us is the fact that the legislation provides that the levels will be set “taking into account” a number of factors without defining what “taking into account” actually means!

The lack of precision means that the European Commission has considerable flexibility about the actual levels it will bring forward. It could propose high permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in supplements, like those levels we are already familiar with in the UK, or it could set very much lower, restrictive levels. Were the European Union to set lower restrictive levels for vitamins and minerals this would outlaw many hundreds of safe and popular higher potency products that have been available to consumers for decades, with no evidence of any harm whatsoever, and that are accepted as properly manufactured and safe by the British regulators.

The latest research conducted by manufacturers and retailers at the request of the Regulators shows that over 700 health food stores could close and 4,000 jobs lost in the UK.

France, Germany and several other European Union Member States are pushing hard for low dose levels to be set when the process moves forward in the next few months, and the United Kingdom is one of only a few countries pressing for higher levels. We will simply be out-voted in the European decision making process.

We should have first sight of the proposed levels in July of this year – but indications are that the lobbying by France and Germany is very persuasive.

We remained convinced that the legislation is unnecessary in this country since to place any unsafe or inappropriately labelled food product upon the UK market is already illegal under the provisions of the Food Safety Act. Whilst theoretically the implementation of the Directive could harmonise and open up the European market, the benefits of this cannot outweigh the potential substantial impact upon consumers and small and medium sized enterprises here in the UK. The last thing the British High Street needs is further business closures forced by the iron hand of Brussels.

Ministers must raise their game and speak out more vociferously in Europe for British consumers and businesses. Whichever Party is elected on 6th May must make it absolutely clear that unnecessary restrictions on British consumer choice are unacceptable. The Government must do more, much more to argue our case in Europe if consumers are not to be denied access to higher potency supplements of their choice.

Please write to Commissioner Dalli in Brussels NOW!

It will take a great deal of effort on all sides if we are to contradict the view in Brussels that “the destruction of the British market is an acceptable price to pay for market harmonisation”.

We all deserve better!

Please act now to Save-our-Supplements.

Download the letter to Cmm Dalli
~ English – click here
~ French – click here
~ German – click here
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