UK supplement industry hoping renewed attention will influence directive
impact of new EU regulations is getting new attention from
consumers and looks set to become the biggest issue to hit the
sector in years.
Trade organisation the Health Food Manufacturers Association (HFMA), along with the National Association of Health Stores (NAHS), has been funding a legal case to prove that the EU supplements directive is illegal in European law. Earlier this year, they were given leave by London's High Court to take the case to the European Court of Justice.
It is also supporting a new campaign organized by consumer groups, and backed by the Conservative party, to lobby the government, which they claim should be doing more to influence how Brussels enforces the new legislation, in areas such as maximum permitted levels and requirements for the nutrient safety dossiers.
Using an e-mail petition, the lobby groups are hoping to demonstrate that the issue could be a vote-winner, in the run up to an anticipated British election this summer.
The campaign against the EU food supplements directive is set to be the most costly ever backed by the HFMA, likely to reach a 'six-figure sum' if it continues, according to executive director David Adams.
But the UK supplement industry, worth £335 million (€482m) in 2002, says it stands to lose a lot under the new directive, which comes into force in August 2005. Around a quarter of all products on UK shelves will disappear, including many higher dose nutrients, such as antioxidant vitamins C, B6 and E and essential minerals including selenium and zinc, currently available in the UK but not permitted in many other European nations.
"We feel that not much pressure is being applied by our government in Brussels but there is still flexibility there to improve the prospects for the industry," Adams told NutraIngredients.com.
HFMA is concerned about the methods European regulators will use to set maximum permitted levels of nutrients and the costs of the dossiers required to prove the safety of a nutrient before it can be added to the EU's list of permitted nutrients.
Around 270 ingredients widely used in supplements in the UK are currently missing from the list. The dossiers are estimated to cost up to £200,000 per substance and there are less than 20 currently under preparation.
"They've certainly said they [the government] will argue the case for maximum permitted levels but there has been a lack of progress on promised meetings with European authorities. We want to make sure we have an influence before the directive is shaped," continued Adams.
