National Health Federation Codex Press Release

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National Health Federation Codex Press Release

Thu, 5 May 2005 18:47:35 -0500

 

NATIONAL

 

HEALTH

 

FEDERATION

 

A NOT-FOR-PROFIT HEALTH ORGANIZATION

 

 

 

May 5, 2005

 

Press Release

 

Codex Breaks its Own Rules!

 

 

The Codex Alimentarius Commission, the active arm of the United

Nations Food Standards Programme, is currently in the process of

completing a controversial global guideline on the manufacture and

sale of nutritional supplements. However, the drafting of this text,

the Draft Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements, has not

been carried out in accordance with the rules set out in the Codex

Procedural Manual (14th edition), and the Guidelines are therefore

defective.

 

Drafted by the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special

Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU), the Draft Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral

Food Supplements advocate similar restrictions on the sale of

nutrients to those contained in the EU Food Supplements Directive,

which itself was recently rejected as invalid by Advocate General

Geelhoed of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

 

Specifically, paragraph (b) (page 57) of the Codex

Procedural Manual, dealing with DRAWING UP OF CODEX STANDARDS (under

GUIDELINES ON THE CONDUCT OF MEETINGS OF CODEX COMMITTEES AND AD HOC

INTERGOVERNMENTAL TASK FORCES), states that:

 

" … all standards and related texts should have a preface containing …

a brief description of the scope and purpose(s) of the standard or

related text, "

 

This requirement was established at the 19th Session

of the Codex Committee on General Principles, held in Paris between

17-21 November 2003, and then adopted at the 27th Session of the Codex

Alimentarius Commission, held in Geneva between 28th June and 2nd July

2004. The CCNFSDU subsequently met in Bonn from 1-5 November 2004

(26th Session), but did not take proper account of this requirement

when considering the guidelines, as evidenced by both the text of the

guidelines and the CCNFSDU's report of its 26th session:

 

1. Neither the Preamble nor the Scope of the Guidelines for

Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements contain any statement to indicate

the purpose(s) of the text. Given therefore that Codex texts have

been used by the World Trade Organization as the benchmark in

international trade disputes, and moreover that it is expected that

they will be used increasingly in this regard, it is therefore of

crucial legal importance that the question " What is the purpose of the

guidelines? " should have a clear, easily understandable answer, and

moreover that this should be provided in the text.

 

 

 

2. The CCNFSDU's Report of its 26th Session gives no indication

that the requirement for the preface to contain a description of the

purpose of the text was even considered, despite the fact that the

matter was raised at this session by the delegations of South Africa,

Tanzania, and the National Health Federation.

 

 

With the above in mind, it is now clear that the 28th

Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission that will be meeting in

Rome from 4-9 July 2005 has no option but to refer the Guidelines for

Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements back to the CCNFSDU, in

accordance with the GUIDE TO THE CONSIDERATION OF STANDARDS AT STEP 8

OF THE PROCEDURE FOR THE ELABORATION OF CODEX STANDARDS INCLUDING

CONSIDERATION OF ANY STATEMENTS RELATING TO ECONOMIC IMPACT, as

described on pages 26-27 of the Codex Procedural Manual (14th

edition). As such, until such time as the CCNFSDU's written comments

regarding this matter have been received and considered by the Codex

Alimentarius Commission, the Codex Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral

Food Supplements should not, and indeed, cannot, be advanced beyond

Step 8 of the Procedure. To act otherwise would be for the Commission

to violate its own rules of procedure.

 

 

 

 

 

For further information contact:

 

 

 

Cheri Tips ct (North America)

 

Paul Anthony Taylor paulandpolly or +44 (0)1325-466361

(Europe).

 

 

 

P.O. Box 688, Monrovia, CA 91017 USA ~ 1 (626) 357-2181 ~ Fax 1 (626)

303-0642

 

Website: www.thenhf.com E-mail:

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