UK Government Backs CHC's Supplement Concerns

LONDONThe U.K. government backed Consumers for Health Choice (CHC) concerns on maximum permitted levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements, and it published a review of the balance of competences between the European Union (EU) and individual member states.

CHC is pleased that the detailed concerns it fed into this fundamentally important government review have been acknowledged, and generally sound conclusions were drawn," said Chris Whitehouse, CHC director of strategy.

These reviews were launched in July 2012 by Foreign Secretary William Hague MP, and the government examined almost every aspect of the U.K.'s relationship with Europe, Whitehouse said.

The report of the single market review included several references to CHCs submission; it also mentioned how CHC highlighted that in areas where there are important dietary and cultural differences, mutual recognition should be preferred to harmonization at all costs. It also mentions the issue of enforcement across the single market, where CHC highlighted the U.K. has long been diligent in enforcing [...] legislation in a timely manner, whilst some other member states have taken a more proportionate approach."

In addition, the report of the health review notes that where the EU has sole competence, prescriptive legislation" can create a barrier to innovation and market development, and it can place disproportionate burdens on small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Prescriptive legislation does not always take account of the different cultures and unique nature of member states markets," and this is of the U.K. government's concern, CHC said.

The review mentions concerns, as highlighted by CHC, that sometimes the European legislative process does not take a sufficiently science-based or a risk-based approach." It also said that the government supports harmonization where there is scope to improve consumer protection and/or the operation of the single market, but each issue needs to be considered carefully to avoid unnecessary burden." In addition, it mentions the example of setting maximum permitted levels (MPLs) for vitamins and minerals in food supplements and fortified foods, arguing that the absence of harmonized EU rules in this area have led to a fragmentation of the single market.

The Government believes that any future decisions on vitamins and mineral food supplements need to be proportionate and based on evidence, so that consumers have confidence in what they buy, while maintaining a wide choice of safe products," the report stated.

In July 2013, CHC held a series of meetings with European Parliament members (MEPs) in an attempt to halt plans that would ban safe, high-strength vitamin and mineral supplements. CHC was supported by MEPs from a wide range of political parties, who agreed with CHCs warnings that banning safe, high-potency supplements will cause consumers to use unregulated sources of supply, such as the Internet.