The UK market in food supplements and herbal remedies is under threat right now. Many safe and popular higher potency food supplements, many nutrients, and a substantial number of herbal remedies could be lost.

The dangers are posed by two main items of EU legislation in the pipeline:

• The Food Supplements Directive

• The Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive

The Food Supplements Directive

Although couched as a consumer safety and free trade measure, the Food Supplements Directive seeks to standardise the different regulatory regimes for food supplements (vitamins and minerals) across the 15 Member countries of the European Union (EU). This may mean some slight liberalisation of the market in France and Germany, but for the existing liberal markets of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in particular it will mean the loss of a substantial number of products.

Reduced Potency

The first threat is that the Directive introduces a system of maximum permitted levels for nutrient content. These levels could be set substantially lower than the "upper safe level" because the process will start with a cautious assessment of "safe level" (e.g. vitamin B6 at 25mg/day). That level will then be further reduced to take into account risk management factors such as nutrient intake from other dietary sources and population reference intakes (similar to the RDA recommendations). Political considerations will then come into play with the Governments of France and Germany seeking to block everything above one or two times RDA levels from being allowed.

Loss of Nutrients

The second threat is that the Directive contains a list of permitted nutrients and nutrient sources which may be used in supplements. If a nutrient is not on the list then it cannot be used. At present there are 300 safe and popular nutrients and nutrient sources on the UK market which are not on the list. To get a substance added to the list now would require the submission of a safety dossier for consideration by the EU Scientific Committee for Foods (SCF). There is a short window of opportunity for the submission of such dossiers (36 months). But time is running out for hundreds of nutrients for which the EU industry is not bothering or cannot afford to submit dossiers, simply because the production of acceptable dossiers can be very expensive, particularly if full supportive clinical evidence is not readily available and needs to be commissioned.

The Directive has now been finalised by Europe and will be transposed into the laws of the member countries in just a few months.

The full text of the Directive can be found at:

www.europarl.eu.int/meetdocs/committees/envi/20020219/c5-0640-01_en.pdf

Europe is also considering a Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive. This Directive will have a devastating affect on herbal products currently on the UK market and in some other European countries. It would allow a safe herbal product onto the market - only if it had already been on the European market for 30 years (or 15 years in Europe and 15 years in another territory), and that it had been manufactured to pharmaceutical standards.

Many herbal products (rather than ingredients) have not been on the EU market for the necessary period. Also, it is inappropriate to apply pharmaceutical manufacturing and testing procedures to natural remedies. There could be no future product innovation, and many product categories would be left outside the scope of the legislation. In particular, products that are mixtures of herbs with nutrients (such as vitamins and minerals) would become illegal in the UK (including many multi-ingredient supplements) because the Directive would not permit such combinations.

The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers are still considering the proposed Directive and it is making rapid progress through the political system.

Is it too late to act?

The Food Supplements Directive is a "framework" Directive. At present it does not specify the maximum permitted levels for individual nutrients. The process of setting those maximum levels for nutrients is underway. While the list of permitted nutrients has been published it is not yet too late to add new nutrients. Both these processes can still be influenced by:

• rational scientific argument

• new scientific evidence

• consumer pressure

• industry lobbying

• diplomatic pressure

The proposed Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive is yet to complete its progress through either the European Parliament or the Council of Ministers. The Directive could still be blocked or substantially amended. Again, what is needed is:

CHC is leading the fight in the UK and Europe in relation to both these threats (and several others in the pipeline as well!).

Currently we are:

• distributing 1 million consumer leaflets through UK health stores – a further 1 million are planned for next month

• lobbying UK Members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords

• planning a major UK Public Relations campaign to which Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, Sir Cliff Richard and Lady Annabel Goldsmith have already given their backing

• mobilising the UK trade press and retailers

• alerting manufacturers around the world to the threats

• lobbying UK Members of the European Parliament

• pressing the UK Government to reverse its support for the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive

• pressing the UK Government actively to deploy all its diplomatic resources to lobby France and Germany to persuade them to put aside their resistance to higher potency vitamins and minerals

• encouraging industry to submit dossiers for missing nutrients

• writing to the Members of the European Parliament who will be considering the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive

What else needs to be done?

Much more needs to be done, both in the UK and in France and Germany.

• the campaign for a "liberal" interpretation of the key provisions of the Food Supplements Directive now being undertaken by the UK Government must be supported by lobbying activity in France and Germany

• industry must co-ordinate efforts internationally for the submission of dossiers for nutrients missing from the permitted lists of vitamins and minerals

• the EU institutions must be pressed to reduce the amount of detail required in nutrient dossiers (making them simpler and cheaper to compile)

• a strong press campaign must be rolled out in Europe using key publications

• the US Government should deploy the full might of its diplomatic influence to complain about the erection of unacceptable barriers to trade

• the US industry should use all its influence through trade contacts such as the Trans Atlantic Business Dialogue to bring about change

• consumers in France and Germany must be mobilised to call for freedom of choice

What can you do to help?

US companies should:

• ensure that their trade associations are fully aware and mobilised

• lobby the US Government for diplomatic action

• support Consumers for Health Choice

How can we support CHC?

CHC needs campaign resources to roll out its political and media campaigns in the UK, in Brussels and in France and Germany.

10 months Campaign Budget:

Who is already supporting financially?

CHC has 6,000 UK members and regularly receives donations from individual consumers and independent retailers, but it is struggling for funds. It receives generous campaign support for its existing UK and Brussels work from leading companies such as Holland and Barrett, Solgar, and Biocare, which are prominent brands in the UK. But it needs additional support at this crucial time.

How do I contribute?

Consumers for Health Choice
9 Old Queen Street
London SW1H 9JA
ENGLAND

Account name: Consumers for Health Choice Ltd

 

Will our contributions be effective?

CHC takes professional political advice from the Whitehouse Consultancy Ltd, a leading consultancy based in London and from Grayling Political Strategy in Brussels. CHC uses professional public relations companies and its board of four directors includes individuals of integrity, ability and experience in consumer campaigns and health food retailing.

The CHC Annual Accounts are professionally prepared and are available for inspection. It complies with all UK company law as a company limited by guarantee.

Full details of CHC and its directors are on its web site at:

www.healthchoice.org.uk