Eu to ban Vitamin and mineral supplements
Vitamins - banned products still unclear
:frown: Imagine having to go to a dealer to buy vitamins :frown:
[Posted: Mon 18/07/2005]
By Deborah Condon
It is still unclear how many products will have to be removed from sale in health shops and pharmacies, following a recent ruling by the EU in relation to vitamins and minerals.
Many Irish consumers were angered following a ruling by the European Court of Justice last week, which upheld the European Commission's Food Supplements Directive. This directive, which comes into effect at midnight on July 31, contains an approved list of vitamins and minerals.
http://www.irishhealth.com/content/i...6/image001.jpg
In theory, those supplements that are not included on the list will be removed from sale from that time. However the directive allowed for a ‘derogation’ until December, 2009.
Basically member states could allow the sale of supplements that are not on the approved list if their manufacturers submitted a 'safety dossier', containing scientific data and relevant information, by July 12. These dossiers had to be submitted to the local food authority - in this case, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) - and then forwarded on to the European Food Safety Authority.
A spokesperson for the FSAI told irishhealth.com that approximately 100 dossiers have been received and they are currently being examined, 'however not all of these may be granted derogation’.
It is unclear at this point how many supplements did not submit dossiers and therefore how many products will have to be removed from shop shelves on August 1.
For more information on this directive and the issues involved, click on...