PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
FOOD SUPPLEMENTS (28 October 2003)

That this House notes that United Kingdom consumers, manufacturers, and retailers of food supplements, together with nutritional therapists, continue to have legitimate concerns about the implementation of the Food Supplements Directive and the Food Supplements (England) Regulations; further notes that, as drafted, the legislation would make illegal in July 2005 many products which currently comply with the requirement of United Kingdom law that they be safe and appropriately labelled simply because they contain nutrients or nutrient sources which are not on the formal list of permitted ingredients; further notes that there is little evidence to date of other European member states agreeing to the view of the United Kingdom Government that maximum permitted levels for nutrients in supplements should be set on the basis of safety and not outdated concepts of the minimum amounts necessary to avoid diseases of nutritional deficiency; urges Her Majesty's Government to continue its dialogue with the European Food Safety Authority to establish a speedy and low-cost mechanism for allowing missing nutrients and nutrient sources to be added to the list of permitted ingredients and to set out a clear strategy for influencing the thinking of the Commission and other member states about the basis for setting maximum permitted levels; and calls for a paradigm shift on the part of the Food Standards Agency in its attitude to nutrition to promote the role of nutrient supplementation in achieving optimum health rather than simply avoiding diseases of nutritional deficiency.

Sponsored by:
Dr Brian Iddon (Labour)