New European vitamin law challenged in the High Court
A ruling is to be sought from the European Court of Justice on whether the European Commission has exceeded its powers by introducing new restrictions on the sale of vitamin and mineral food supplements.
Four separate organisations have challenged the ban in the High Court
and have been granted leave to apply for judicial review of the UK Government’s
plans to implement the ban. The High Court is to ask the European Court
to rule on specific points.
The Alliance for Natural Health and Nutri-Link Ltd argue that the European
ban is contrary to Article 95 of the EC treaty because it harms the internal
market rather than contributes to its development, as required by Article
95. The National Association of Health Stores and the Healthfood Manufacturers’ Association
argue that the ban infringes treaty Articles 28 and 123 on the free movement
of goods. They also say that the proposals for a positive list of allowed
ingredients are disproportionate and
unscientific.
The Alliance for Natural Health estimates that the ban affects 300 out
of 450 currently available ingredients and will result in up to 5,000
products disappearing from UK retailers’ shelves. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal