goatlady
12-02-04, 08:01
Not herbal stuff but.. this is aportion of a health newsletter posted elsewhere that concerns me.
The FDA's wildest dream-and our worst nightmare-is about to come true. Two years ago, I told you about the passage of the European Union (EU) Directive on Dietary Supplements. This directive, which is part of a larger form of legislation called Codex Alimentarius, severely restricts access to natural health products in Europe. At the time, it probably seemed a long way off: After all, the law wasn't to go into effect for several years following the initial passage.
Unfortunately, that several years is up, and the EU Directive is on track to take full effect in August 2005-less than a year from now--and by 2007, the scene described above will certainly be a reality for many, many people. Obviously, this is devastating news for Europe. But thanks to some pre-existing international agreements made by the U.S., the EU Directive will be just as devastating for the natural health community here. The main difference is that while the Directive has been big news in Europe for some time, it's been virtually ignored by U.S. media, which means that the severe restrictions it calls for will sneak up on most people and rob us all of our freedom to choose natural alternatives before we even know what's happening. That's why I and many of my colleagues in the health publishing world have done our best to keep you informed of the Directive's developments-and their consequences for the U.S.-over the years. And why we've decided to make a big push in our September newsletters by covering it in-depth.
Simply put, we're down to the wire, and if we don't act immediately, we will be facing the same fate as Europeans. There are steps you can take to get the word out and, hopefully, to diffuse this ticking time bomb. But first, let's take a few minutes and recount some of the specifics included in the Directive so that you know exactly what it is we're fighting against.
5,000 products set to disappear
The EU Directive classifies vitamins and minerals in Europe as "medical drugs" rather than dietary supplements, which means that they're subject to government regulation in terms of dosage and availability. It gets worse: There are many nutrients known to be vital to optimal health that are not on the government's RDA nutrient list including chromium picolinate, lysine, and selenium. Under the Directive, these types of supplements are banned from over-the-counter sale. Put simply, it will be illegal to buy them without a prescription.
The supplements that will be available will be restricted to multi-vitamins containing no more than 100 percent of the established RDA amounts, which are usually useless, trivial quantities--and they'll be far more expensive than what we have now.
This Directive, for all intents and purposes, makes it illegal for people to keep themselves healthy by supplementing with essential nutrients.
Plus, the Directive only allows supplements to be made from a list of 15 minerals and 13 vitamins. That leaves out at least 40 minerals important in human metabolism and forbids the use of the most bio-available forms of vitamin complexes. In essence, it means that all nutritional supplements will be virtually the same-the specific combinations might vary, but the types and amounts of nutrients will be identical-no matter what product they're formulated into.
I had been trying to keep updated on the Codex but slacked off this year. If, in fact, what this newletter states is true what are the real chances of this going into effect here in the U.S. I'm wondering if this ties in anyway with the FDAs announcement earlier this month about their proposed new regulations on supplements they want to implement next year. Feed, back folks, would be appreciated.
The FDA's wildest dream-and our worst nightmare-is about to come true. Two years ago, I told you about the passage of the European Union (EU) Directive on Dietary Supplements. This directive, which is part of a larger form of legislation called Codex Alimentarius, severely restricts access to natural health products in Europe. At the time, it probably seemed a long way off: After all, the law wasn't to go into effect for several years following the initial passage.
Unfortunately, that several years is up, and the EU Directive is on track to take full effect in August 2005-less than a year from now--and by 2007, the scene described above will certainly be a reality for many, many people. Obviously, this is devastating news for Europe. But thanks to some pre-existing international agreements made by the U.S., the EU Directive will be just as devastating for the natural health community here. The main difference is that while the Directive has been big news in Europe for some time, it's been virtually ignored by U.S. media, which means that the severe restrictions it calls for will sneak up on most people and rob us all of our freedom to choose natural alternatives before we even know what's happening. That's why I and many of my colleagues in the health publishing world have done our best to keep you informed of the Directive's developments-and their consequences for the U.S.-over the years. And why we've decided to make a big push in our September newsletters by covering it in-depth.
Simply put, we're down to the wire, and if we don't act immediately, we will be facing the same fate as Europeans. There are steps you can take to get the word out and, hopefully, to diffuse this ticking time bomb. But first, let's take a few minutes and recount some of the specifics included in the Directive so that you know exactly what it is we're fighting against.
5,000 products set to disappear
The EU Directive classifies vitamins and minerals in Europe as "medical drugs" rather than dietary supplements, which means that they're subject to government regulation in terms of dosage and availability. It gets worse: There are many nutrients known to be vital to optimal health that are not on the government's RDA nutrient list including chromium picolinate, lysine, and selenium. Under the Directive, these types of supplements are banned from over-the-counter sale. Put simply, it will be illegal to buy them without a prescription.
The supplements that will be available will be restricted to multi-vitamins containing no more than 100 percent of the established RDA amounts, which are usually useless, trivial quantities--and they'll be far more expensive than what we have now.
This Directive, for all intents and purposes, makes it illegal for people to keep themselves healthy by supplementing with essential nutrients.
Plus, the Directive only allows supplements to be made from a list of 15 minerals and 13 vitamins. That leaves out at least 40 minerals important in human metabolism and forbids the use of the most bio-available forms of vitamin complexes. In essence, it means that all nutritional supplements will be virtually the same-the specific combinations might vary, but the types and amounts of nutrients will be identical-no matter what product they're formulated into.
I had been trying to keep updated on the Codex but slacked off this year. If, in fact, what this newletter states is true what are the real chances of this going into effect here in the U.S. I'm wondering if this ties in anyway with the FDAs announcement earlier this month about their proposed new regulations on supplements they want to implement next year. Feed, back folks, would be appreciated.