ANH eBlast: ANH contests European regulators in Brussels

On Wednesday 23rd June, Dr Robert Verkerk, ANH-Intl’s executive and scientific director, entered the lion’s den. In the den, he faced leading figures in both theEuropean Commission and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that are responsible for the rash of European regulation that is putting at risk the ability of 500 million Europeans to manage their health through natural means. 

The occasion of this unusual coincidence of views was a lunchtime seminar convened by Irish (North West constituency) independent Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Marian Harkin. The debate’s title, “Towards a scientifically and legally rational regulatory approach to natural health products in Europe” ensured that polarised viewpoints would be aired. The audience in Brussels was a mix of other MEPs, their assistants and a sprinkling of stakeholders who were there because of their concerns over their futures as consumers, retailers or distributors of natural health products. 

After opening the seminar, Ms Harkin handed over to Mr Basil Mathioudakis, who heads up the food law unit at the European Commission. Mr Mathioudakis has been the key official responsible for the European Commission’s legislative proposals affecting natural health for over a decade. He’s been not only the key figure in the Commission that stakeholders and member states have been dealing with, he’s also been the primary European representative at committee meetings of the Codex Alimentarius. For many, he epitomises all that’s wrong with the EU’s approach to law-making in the area of healthy foods and supplements. 

Prof George Kass, senior scientific officer with EFSA and a member of the Unit on Food Additive and Nutrient Sources Added to Food (ANS Panel), followed Mr Mathioudakis with his presentation, and finally ANH's scientific and executive director, Dr Robert Verkerk. Mathioudakis and Kass weren’t the lions he expected, having missed their opportunity to try and deliver any knock-out blows that would justify their seemingly wayward law-making.

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