Food supplement and vitamin restrictions to go ahead, following European
court ruling
Plans to ban certain food supplements and place upper limits on vitamin doses in supplements are to go ahead in August.
Campaigners opposed to the changes have been seeking a High Court order
against UK legislative changes to implement restrictions arising from
European law. However, they are now likely to lose their case because
the European court has ruled that an EU directive on food supplements
was properly made (PJ, 7 February 2004, p148).
The Alliance for Natural
Health estimates that the ban will affect 300
out of 450 currently available natural ingredients and will result in
up to 5,000 products disappearing from shelves.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s science adviser, John Clements,
said the Society welcomed the moves to ensure that the products available
are of sufficient quality and safe to use. However, he added: “The
directive imposes an upper limit on the strength of vitamins but the
Society’s view is that these limits should be based on scientific
evidence.” |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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