EU AND SUPPLEMENTS

[deltaforce69]

I have heard today that the EU Court has ruled in favour of the limitations for the supplements industry.

What will happen? Will be possible to order the product in the US ?


From Sky news

VITAMIN BAN UPHELD

Controversial new European laws which could outlaw thousands of vitamin and mineral supplements have been upheld by judges in Europe.

The European Court of Justice rejected claims by the British health food industry that the proposed Food Supplements Directive, coming into force on August 1, breaches EU rules.

The surprise decision goes against an opinion delivered by the same court's advocate-general in April, advising that the rules should be scrapped because they contravene basic EU principles of "legal protection, legal certainty and sound administration".

But the judges countered that the proposed arrangements, designed to tighten controls on the growing market in products sold under the health food heading, can go ahead as planned.

Health food companies have to submit natural remedies, vitamin supplements and mineral plant extracts for approval and inclusion on a list of recognised food supplements.

The judges backed the move saying: "A 'positive list' system is appropriate for securing the free movement of food supplements and ensuring the protection of human health."

In the UK, many of the products have been in regular use for many years, in what is a £300 million-a-year market.

[kwyckemynd00]

Watch the US follow in the EU's footsteps. The FDA licks the balls of the EU and has been talking about "harmonizing our laws" with their for quite some time.

Unfortunately, this comes as no surprise. I heard of this long ago and figured that nobody would do anything about it...sad that people will fight for drugs and alcohol, but when it comes to AAS and nutrition supplements people roll over and die.

[200wannabe]

As someone living in the UK I have been following this and contributed to the ANH who were trying to fight it.

This stinks....... big time!

[Matthew D]

I don't know if you will be able to order in the US for shipping to an EU country, but personally, I think that some of the decisions that have been made in the name of global trade are really bull**** decision...

[carcinogen]

Jeezus, what's next? regulation of what and amount we are allowed to eat?

[MaynardMeek]

actually yes... if you look at some places limit the amount of protein that you can have in a serving of something....

[carcinogen]

actually yes... if you look at some places limit the amount of protein that you can have in a serving of something....

and so it begins

[Author L. Rea]

EU Court Upholds European Ban On Food Supplements


http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20050712\ ACQDJON200507120537DOWJONESDJO NLINE000183.htm




BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- In a surprise decision, the European Court of Justice, Europe's highest court, Tuesday upheld a European Union ban on a wide range of food supplements set to take effect in August.

A group of U.K. vitamin makers and health food stores challenged the ban. They claimed that it was an excessive use of E.U. powers and would disproportionately hurt the U.K., where this industry is the most developed in Europe.

"The regulatory costs on suppliers will be disproportionate if the (ban) takes effect and may lead to bankruptcies," Andrew Lockley, the group's lawyer said in April.

The court disagreed, saying that, "certain restrictions can be justified by the protection of public health." It rejected the companies' arguments and confirmed the validity of the E.U. law.

The E.U. ban comes as part of a broader policy intended to regulate Europe's food supplement trade. The policy, known as the "Food Supplements Directive", includes a list of approved vitamins and minerals, and just over 100 acceptable sources from which they can be derived.

The list excluded more than 200 nutrients that have long been considered safe, threatening up to 5,000 products currently sold in the U.K., the companies challenging the E.U. law told the court in January.

The court recognized that, "a positive list system must be accompanied by a procedure which allows a given substance to be added to the lists". The U.K. group has claimed that such measures would be too expensive for small suppliers and could drive many out of business. The cost to test and register a new ingredient is estimated to be between GBP80,000 to GBP250,000 per ingredient.

The court said that a negative list system wouldn't reach the same objectives. It noted that such a system could result in a substance being freely used in the manufacture of food supplements even though it hadn't been subject to any testing proving it posed no risk to human health.

The decision goes against the court's previous rejection of the ban in a preliminary ruling in April. Advocate General Leendert Geelhoed, a senior adviser to the court, criticized the lack of transparency in the procedure to add a product to the list and suggested the law be annulled on these grounds. The court's preliminary ruling is usually followed in eight out of 10 cases.

The court decision will anger many people in the U.K. who have fought against it. The campaign has received support from celebrities including Paul McCartney and Elton John and more than a million have signed a "save our supplements" petition in health food stores across the country.

Chris Davis, a British member of the European Parliament, said the court's decision "will be a bitter pill to swallow for British campaigners." He also, however, added that, "the consequences of this new law have been greatly exaggerated. No vitamin or supplement will disappear from the shelves unless it fails to gain approval after tests that may still be year off."

[Sir Foxx]

I say fine, if that's the way these governments want things then everything will have a black market, creating untaxable transactions, creating powerful criminal organizations that threaten these very same governments stability. Chaos will reign, cats and dogs living together, as we all watch the world burn

[Brennon]

actually yes... if you look at some places limit the amount of protein that you can have in a serving of something....

Is there any way you can expand on that? I haven't heard of this...

[Iron Warrior]

The US better not follow in those footsteps, I'd hate to get basic stuff like whey & anti-oxidants in some downtown alley near all the drug addicts, like Sir Foxx said, it would only bite them on the ass for the long term.

[kwyckemynd00]

I say fine, if that's the way these governments want things then everything will have a black market, creating untaxable transactions, creating powerful criminal organizations that threaten these very same governments stability. Chaos will reign, cats and dogs living together, as we all watch the world burn

Maybe a bit cynical, but it's the truth

[MaynardMeek]

dont cross the streams....


anyway.. as per what I said about limiting the protein amounts... actually i looked into it ( aka talking to the two ausies that are members of my dojo) from what they tell me, they cant even buy myoplex due to the level of Bs as well as the form of protein.... if that sorta clears anything up

[TheViking]

I can see it coming.

"- A grilled chicken please!"
"- Sorry dude, it's on the banlist."
"-doh!"

[lifted]

Cuz I'm praying for rain
And I'm praying for tidal waves
I wanna see the ground give way.
I wanna watch it all go down.
Mom please flush it all away.
I wanna watch it go right in and down.
I wanna watch it go right in.
Watch you flush it all away.

Time to bring it down again.
Don't just call me pessimist.
Try and read between the lines.

I can't imagine why you wouldn't
Welcome any change, my friend.

I wanna see it all come down.
suck it down.
flush it down.


--Aenema--TooL


I can't ****ing wait till this big ball of bull**** goes up in flames, I'll tell ya...

[The Experiment]

Karl Marx hated self improvement so there's the EU rationale for the supplement ban.

The US will fall to these laws but probably not for a while. Although a few propaganda pieces here and there can get the ball rolling.

[yankees3]

The US better not follow in those footsteps, I'd hate to get basic stuff like whey & anti-oxidants in some downtown alley near all the drug addicts, like Sir Foxx said, it would only bite them on the ass for the long term.

Can you imagine getting banned for posting sources for a good multivitamin or having to buy research fish oil for your "rats"?

[Iron Warrior]

Can you imagine getting banned for posting sources for a good multivitamin or having to buy research fish oil for your "rats"?

Not just that but getting arrested for possession of whey protein. You never know, the media might make it seem worse than narcotics and you can be in the big house for a while, that's my biggest concern.