Dear Brooks,
Thanks very much for your post on rosa rugosa, I too would be very grateful for
more info on this and what to do with the hips plus storage etc.
I live in Scotland, UK and as you can imagine have been very disturbed by what
the pharma companies and the EU are getting up to with our supplements.
However, there was a glimmer of hope the other day when the Alliance for
Natural Health (organisation of vit/mincompanies etc) took the EU to the
European Court of Justice over the whole issue.Also there was a debate in the
House of Commins in London on this issue, predictably the Government won as
they have a large majority but got rather a red face over it as many did vote
against it and they siad they were for the EU ban for the publics safety yet
they couldn't come up with any evidence for any dangers from the supplements so
ended up looking rather stupid.
I have printed off 2 brief articles on it below and it does seem to have gone
pretty well. We are all hoping we will get a "stay of execution" over all this
at least for a while but we will have to wait and see.
They are also out to get herbal medicines and homeopathy.
I know from my homeopathic doctor that homeopathic remedies have been found to
still be potent well over 100years after their production, if kept in correct
conditions. He was present when they used some remedies made by Hannemann
himself and they still worked.
Obviously vits/mins wouldn't keep nearly that long but do you have any idea how
long they may last in case we need to stash up on these things? I suspect the
dates you see for vits/mins expiring are partly a sales thing and they would
last a lot longer than they say on the labels or am I being over cynical here?
Best wishes,
Sheila Campbell
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ECJ ADVOCATE GENERAL DESCRIBES VITAMIN AND MINERAL BAN "AS TRANSPARENT AS A
BLACK BOX"
UK government decides not to attend court hearing to make its objections to the
challenge
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release 25 January 2005
EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE ADVOCATE GENERAL DESCRIBES VITAMIN AND MINERAL BAN
"AS TRANSPARENT AS A BLACK BOX"
UK GOVERNMENT DECIDES NOT TO ATTEND COURT HEARING TO MAKE ITS OBJECTIONS TO THE
CHALLENGE
The Alliance for Natural Health today presented its oral submission to the
European Court of Justice in Luxembourg in its landmark case challenging the
ban in the EU Food Supplements Directive on 75% of vitamin and mineral forms
currently sold in the EU market.
Opposing oral submissions were made by the European Commission, the Council of
Ministers, the European Parliament and only one EU Member State, Greece.
UK Government does not present its objections to the challenge.
Interestingly, neither the UK government nor Portugal attended to present oral
arguments despite having filed Written Observations in the case. This means
that none of the major EU countries felt the need to oppose the ANH's
application for a declaration that the ban in the Directive was unlawful.
David Hinde Solicitor and ANH Legal Director said:
"Given the vigour with which the UK government resisted this application at
the Judicial Review stage, it was extraordinary it did not now think the issue
sufficiently important to warrant being represented at the ECJ to make oral
submissions. The question inevitably arises whether this signifies a change of
attitude on their part and a retreat from their previously bullish position
about the legality of the Directive."
Paul Lasok QC, a world leading expert on EU law, representing the ANH opened
the proceedings and systematically undermined the legal and scientific basis of
the Directive, highlighting contradictions between various arguments put
forward by the key bodies involved in developing the Directive, namely the
European Commission, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.
When asked by Judge Lenaerts as to the origin of the positive list which
appeared to have been derived from an old list produced by the European
Commission, and so omitted a vast array of nutrients that can normally be found
in food, Mr Lasok responded:
"The list was put together without adding, without subtracting and without
thinking."
Advocate General Geelhoed, the senior judge at today's hearing, appeared to be
baffled by the procedure for adding nutrients to the positive list, which he
described:
"As transparent as a black box."
Dr Robert Verkerk, executive director of the ANH said after the hearing:
"It was remarkable that the vast majority of points that we had gone to
great length to show the Court were not countered in any effective way by the
opposing parties. The Commission, the Council and the Parliament were not able
to give any adequate scientific explanations for why so many forms of vitamins
and minerals that naturally occur in foods could be banned across the EU."
Final judgement expected in June 2005
The Advocate General announced that he would deliver his opinion on 5 April 2005
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 27, 2005
Pro-drink, anti-vitamins. How's that for a shot in the foot?
by Mary Ann Sieghart
THIS IS what your average town centre could look like in a years time. All
night the bars, pubs and clubs will be serving alcohol, and drunken groups will
be lurching down the high street in the early hours of the morning, yelling and
throwing up in the gutter. By day, sober, responsible citizens will be visiting
their local health food shop only to discover that they can no longer buy their
favourite vitamin or mineral because the EU, with the connivance of the
Government, has banned it.
Its a funny old world, isnt it? People embarking on an early death from
cirrhosis of the liver will be encouraged in their efforts by ministers. Yet
people who follow the Governments advice to take greater responsibility for
their health will be forbidden to do so.
The EU Food Supplements Directive is due to take effect on August 1. As a
result, more than 5,000 products will disappear from health stores and more
than 300 vitamin and mineral ingredients out of 420 will be banned. The only
hope for consumers of these products is a court case being fought by the
Alliance for Natural Health, an organisation of manufacturers, retailers,
distributors, consumers and practitioners of complementary medicine.
The case has been rushed through the British courts and was considered so
strong that the High Court expedited its progress to the European Court of
Justice (ECJ), where it was heard yesterday. Shamefully, the British Government
joined the Greeks and Portuguese in fighting the Alliance, although UK
government lawyers failed to turn up to argue in court.
The directive turns the normal British concept of freedom on its head. Instead
of allowing any vitamin or mineral to be sold unless it is has been proved
harmful, the directive insists that only those proved to be safe can appear on
its positive list and thus on the shelves. Yet these are all ingredients that
appear in a natural diet and have been eaten without ill effect by human beings
for millennia.
For a product to reach the positive list, a huge dossier of evidence will need
to be provided by the manufacturer: a cripplingly expensive process that, even
according to the UK Government, will cost between £80,000 and £250,000 for each
ingredient far beyond the means of most small manufacturers.
Yesterday, the advocate general of the ECJ, apparently impressed by the
Alliance for Natural Healths case, agreed that the procedure for adding
nutrients to the positive list was as transparent as a black box. This may
bode well: his judgment will be published on April 5, and the court judgment in
June. In the vast majority of cases, the court supports the judgment of the
advocate general.
In other words, it is at least possible that this outrageous ban will be
overturned. But that still leaves open the question of why our (British)
Government supported it in the first place. . ."
source:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1071-1457293,00.html
BB> Without belaboring the causes, background and/or
BB> general effects of Codex Alimentarius, I would offer the list membership one
BB> possible, simple, response to addressing at least
BB> one of the "fundamental" vitamin/vitamin-like substances. Considering
BB> that to light a single candle is preferable to cursing the darkness....I
BB> offer the following suggestion:
BB>
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