Media Centre

Yesterday
the
European
Parliament's
Petitions
Committee
agreed
to keep
five
petitions,
questioning
the
European
Commission's
proposal
to
limit
maximum
levels
of
vitamins
and
minerals
across
Europe's
27
member
states,
open.

The
proposal
represents
the
next
phase
of
the
EU's
Food
Supplements
Directive
(EC
Directive
2002/46/EC).

The
case
supporting
the
petitions
was
argued
by
Dr
Robert
Verkerk,
executive
director
of
the
Alliance
for
Natural
Health
(ANH)
and
also
scientific
advisor
to
the
Irish
Association
of
Health
Stores
(IAHS).

The
petitions
had
been
filed
2 years
ago
by
the
Irish
Association
of
Health
Stores,
the
ANH,
the
Irish
Health
Trade
Association,
the
Nutritional
Therapists
of
Ireland
and
a
Swedish
association
of
practitioners.

Dr
Verkerk
told
the
Committee
and
attending
Members
of
the
European
Parliament, as
well
as
other
observers
present,
that
over
100
million
Europeans
took
supplements
regularly
and
they
should
be
allowed
the
freedom
to
choose.

He
said
the
Commission's
desire
to
statutorily
limit
dosages
of
vitamin
and
mineral
food
supplements
using
its
flawed
risk
analysis
methods,
would
mean
that,
assuming
the
existing
proposals
were
turned
to
law,
the
vast
majority
of
people
would
not
experience
any
significant
benefits
when
using
the
products.

Dr
Verkerk,
referring
to
arguments
published
by
him
recently
in
two
articles
in
the
highly
respected
peer
review
journal
Toxicology,
was
highly
critical
of
methods
developed
by
both
the
European
Food
Safety
Authority
(EFSA)
and
the
European
Commission.

Dr
Verkerk
commenced
his
briefing
to
the
Committee
comparing
the
lack
of
consistency
in
EFSA’s
risk
assessment
methods
that,
on
one
hand,
were
generally
‘green
lighting’
as
safe
genetically
modified
crops,
while
delivering
highly
restrictive
assessments
on
many
vitamins
and
minerals,
the
intake
of
which
had
been
associated
with
profound
beneficial
health
effects.



Following
the
Petition
Committee's
meeting
in
Brussels
yesterday,
Dr
Verkerk
commented,
"I
thought
the
European
Commission
put
up
a
rather
weak
defence.

Its
key
strategy
seemed
to
be
to
attack
the
entire
notion
of
nutritional
therapy,
arguing
it
involved
the
medicinal,
rather
than
food
use,
of
micronutrients".

Verkerk
went
on
to
say,
"the
Commission
continues
to
ignore
key
issues
we
are
raising
about
the
irrational
and
inconsistent
scientific
and
regulatory
approaches


they
are
contemplating".

2

Mr
Basil
Mathioudakis,
head
of
the
food
law
and
nutrition
unit
of
DG
SANCO,
who
argued
the
European
Commission's
case,
told
the
Committee
it
was
committed
to
turning
the
proposals
into
law
and
was
content
to
outlaw
use
of
nutrients
used
in
clinical
nutrition,
functional
medicine
and
nutritional
therapy.

He
remarked
that
any
use
of
vitamins
and
minerals
to
prevent
or
treat
disease
was
outside
the
scope
of
food
law,
and
so
shouldn't
be
allowed
under
the
EU's
Food
Supplements
Directive.


Mrs
Jill
Bell,
chair
of
IAHS,
the
only
other
petitioner
attending,
told
the
Petitions
Committee
that
she
was
confused
by
the
Commission's
complaint
over
her
association's
impact
assessment.

The
IAHS's
own
assessments
suggested
that
a
proposal
to
severely
limit
dosages
would
not
only
negatively
impact
numerous
consumers
who
were
reliant
on
the
products,
it
would
also
send
a
significant
number
of
health
stores
to
the
wall.

Ms
Erminia
Mazzoni,
chair
of
the
Committee,
concluded,
following
a
short
discussion
involving
MEPs,
Dr
Verkerk
and
Mrs
Jill
Bell,
that
the
petition
be
kept
open.

She
also
agreed
that
the
Committee
request
again
an
opinion
from
the
European
Parliament's
Committee
on
Public
Health
and
Food
Safety
(ENVI).Dr
Verkerk
proposed
that
Europe's
risk
assessor
of
foods,
the
European
Food
Safety
Authority
(EFSA)
and
the
European
Commission,
the
risk
manager,
be
requested
to
answer
the
scientific
complaints
raised
by
Dr
Verkerk
and
others
in
two
peer
reviewed
papers
in
the
journal
Toxicology
that
are
currently
in
press.





ENDS.

EDITOR’S
NOTES

About
the
European
Parliament’s
Committee
on
Petitions

www.europarl.europa.eu



Any
citizen,
acting
individually
or
jointly
with
others,
may
at
any
time
exercise
his
right
of
petition
to
the
European
Parliament
under
Article
194
of
the
EC
Treaty.

Petitions
will
be
considered
by
the
committee
to
allow
scrutiny
on
law‐making
processes
involving
the
European
Commission
and
European
Council.

This
scrutiny
can
lead
to
constructive
pressure
being
brought
to
bear
on


European
institutions
and
Member
State
governments.



Any
citizen
of
the
European
Union,
or
resident
in
a
Member
State,
may
individually
or
in
association
with
others,
submit
a
petition
to
the
European
Parliament
on
a
subject
which
comes
within
the
European
Union's
fields
of
activity
and
which
affects
them
directly.
Any
company,
organisation
or
association
with
its
headquarters
inthe
European
Union
may
also
exercise
this
right
of
petition,
which
is
guaranteed
by
the
Treaty.



About
ANH
International

www.anhinternational.org

Alliance
for
Natural
Health
International
is
an
internationally
active
non‐governmental
organisation
working
towards
protecting
and
promoting
natural
approaches
to
healthcare.

ANH‐Intl
campaigns
across
a
wide
range
of
fields,
including
freedom
of
choice
and
the
use
of
micronutrients
and
herbal
products
in
healthcare.

It
also
operates
campaigns
that
aim
to
restrict
mass
fluoridation
of
water
supplies
and
the
use
of
genetically
modified
foods.

Through
its
work
particularly
in
Europe
(www.anh‐europe.org)
and
the
USA
(www.anh‐usa.org),
the
ANH
works
to
accomplish
its
mission
through
its
unique
application
of
‘good
science’
and
‘good
law’.

The
organisation
was
founded
in
2002
by
Dr
Robert
Verkerk,
an
internationally
acclaimed
expert
in
sustainability,
who
has
headed
the
organisation
since
this
time.

TheANH
brought
a
case
against
the
European
directive
on
food
supplements
in
2003,
which
was
successfully
referred
to
the


uropean
Court
of
Justice
in
early
2004.
The
ruling
in
2005
provided
significant
clarification
to
areas
of
EU
law
affecting
food
supplements
that
were
previously
non‐transparent.

About
the
Irish
Association
of
Health
Stores

www.irishhealthstores.com

The
IAHS
is
a
professional
trade
association,
which
represents
over
80%
of
the
health
stores
in
the
Republic
of
Ireland.

Health
food
is
the
fastest
growing
sector
of
food
retailing
in
Ireland,
and
representing
over
100
member
stores,
the
IAHS
exists
to
ensure
that
health
food
retailing
is
ethical,
responsible,
truthful
and
professional.

Founded
in
1986,
the
Association
operates
under
a
written


onstitution
and
member
stores
are
required
to
adhere
to
a
strict
Code
of
Ethics.

About
the
European
Commission’s
proposal

Link
to
position
on
Maximum
Permitted
Levels
(MPLs):


http://www.anhcampaign.org/files/080630_ANH‐Briefing‐Paper_FSD‐MPLs.pdf

Link
to
European
Commission’s
response
to
ANH
and
other
petitions
on
MPLs:

http://www.anhcampaign.org/files/090707_EC_response_to_MPL_petitions.pdf

About
the
Toxicology
papers

Verkerk,
R.H.J.,
Hickey,
S.,
A
critique
of
prevailing
approaches
to
nutrient
risk


analysis
pertaining
to
food
supplements
with
specific
reference
to
the
European


Union.
Toxicology
(2009),
doi:10.1016/j.tox.2009.12.017

The
article
can
be
accessed
electronically
from:


http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tox.2009.12.017

 

Verkerk,
R.H.J.,
The
paradox
of
overlapping
micronutrient
risks
and
benefits


obligates
risk/benefit
analysis.
Toxicology
(2010),
doi:10.1016/j.tox.2010.02.011

The
article
can
be
accessed
electronically
from:



http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6TCN‐

4YG1M2X‐

1&_user=5551568&_coverDate=02%2F24%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig

=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlV

ersion=0&_userid=5551568&md5=e3b5d82bb4edd48a7ed68fd99ca809e3