July 2003

The EU Food Supplements Directive, which was approved by the European Commission on March 12th, is due to be brought into UK law in two weeks time (1).

Philip Booth, Gloucestershire Green Party spokesperson said;"If implemented this directive would serve only to ensure a healthy bank balance for the multinationals of the pharmaceutical industry. The thousands of people who currently take vitamins and supplements will find access restricted through the imposition of an expensive licensing system which will drive small, innovative suppliers to the wall."

According to the bill, permitted levels of nutrients in supplements will be lowered so that companies would be able to sell lower dosage, cheaper and less effective products throughout Europe(2). This would bring an end to existing better practice in Britain and other EU states where more diverse markets operate(3).

Philip Booth continued, "Large companies who make the less effective products also manufacture standard pharmaceuticals whose patenting and marketing is crucial to their survival in a highly competitive global market. This branding and patent protection enables companies to put less effective alternatives to market".

Health food shops will close

Philip Booth added; "We could also see health food shops in Gloucestershire closing, as most of these businesses make their greatest margins on supplements and need a wide range to survive."

Ralph Pike, director of the Association of Health Stores in England says that up to a third of British health food retailers could go out of business (4).

Why supplements are important?

Philip Booth said: "20th century agriculture has created a food supply that is far less nutritious than it once was. Intensive farming. battery conditions for livestock and widespread processing have depleted food of many vital supplements. The UK's Medical Research Council found that vegetables have lost up to 75 per cent of their nutrients between 1940 and 1975, fruits about one-third and meats about half. Food being so much less nutritious means that for many, taking extra vitamins has become a virtual necessity. "

Philip Booth concluded; "There is theoretically still time to influence legislation. Massive grassroots campaigning stopped similar legislation in the US, but we need to make our voices heard now. Write to your MP and Tony Blair now."

The Green Party sees the provision of sound nutrition and wholesome food as a fundamental human right.

Top Green to address protest rally

Green Party Principal Speaker Margaret Wright will be addressing a protest march in London against  the directive this Sunday, 15th June(5).

Notes:

1. Directive 2002/46/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to food supplements:  Member States shall bring into force the laws necessary to comply with this Directive by 31 July 2003.   Those laws, regulations and administrative provisions shall be applied in such a way as to permit trade in products complying with this Directive, from 1 August 2003 at the latest; and to prohibit trade in products which do not comply with the Directive, from 1 August 2005 at the latest.

2. Many of the products identified as unsafe have been accessible to consumers for years, but instead of going for a scientific safety assessment, the Directive is based on a recommended daily allowance dating back to the Second World War. The Greens are concerned that this Directive will force consumers to purchase these products on the internet where there are no controls.

3. The European Commission has stated that its goal was an extension of the internal market. However, many member states put national interests first, and lobbied to keep their markets closed. The Greens believe this to be because the more liberal regime in Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands is not acceptable to other member states such as Germany and France. This means that products that are safe and currently widely available may be withdrawn from the market. The Greens believe the only criterion for taking products off the market should be one of safety, not gratuitous standardisation.

4. Quoted in The Ecologist June 2003

5. Starts at Speaker's corner, Hyde Park at 11am - Comment/interviews: please call the press office on 020 7561 0282.