The nomination of Malta's European Commissioner Designate, John Dalli, to take responsibility for the health portfolio (DG SANCO) within the European Commission creates an excellent opportunity for him to influence the current debate on the availability of safe and popular higher potency vitamin and mineral supplements which are under threat from burdensome European legislation.

The Food Supplements Directive, for the implementation of which Commissioner Dalli will take responsibility, provides (in its Article 5) for maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements to be established on a pan-European basis.

Commission officials answering to Mr Dalli are expected to bring forward their proposals for such maximum permitted levels within the next few months. Recent warnings from the Commission are that consumers around Europe can expect to be denied access to many safe and popular higher potency supplements which they currently choose in order to achieve and maintain optimum health. With offices in Brussels and London, Consumers for Health Choice is a consumer advocacy organisation promoting freedom of choice in natural health products, including food supplements and herbal remedies.

We have supporters in all 27 European member states, including Malta, and are calling upon Commissioner Dalli to ensure that the Commission abandons plans for a disproportionately restrictive interpretation of this legislation and instead to propose figures which do not unnecessarily restrict access to safe and popular products around Europe.

The difficulty which the Commission faces is that Article 5 of the Directive requires maximum permitted levels for nutrients in food supplements to be set "taking into account" a number of factors, but it does not indicate what "taking into account" actually means. Thus the Article is open to flexible interpretation. The Commission acknowledges that it is under pressure from some member states, including France and Germany, to propose restrictive levels, whereas other member states such as the United Kingdom are pressing for a more liberal and proportionate interpretation which does not deny consumer choice or lead to the closure of the manufacturers and retailers of specialist products.

Millions of consumers around Europe are looking to Commissioner Dalli to take a lead on this matter and to stand up for consumer choice and the small- and medium-sized businesses in the specialist sector.

We hope that readers of The Times of Malta will join our campaign and write to Commissioner Dalli to urge him to protect consumer choice in the setting of maximum permitted levels under the provisions of this legislation. He can be contacted as follows:

Commissioner Designate John Dalli, DG Health and Consumer Protection (DO SANCO), The European Commission, B-1049 Brussels.

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