Colloidal Silver Banned in Europe, Part II

[Guest guest]

Colloidal Silver Banned in Europe, Part II

_http://colloidalsilversecrets.blogspot.com/2010/01/colloidal-silver-banned-in-e\

urope-part.html_

(http://colloidalsilversecrets.blogspot.com/2010/01/colloidal-silver-banned-in-e\

urope-p

art.html)

 

 

“A rash of European laws are being foisted on Europe's 500 million strong

population through undemocratic means, by unelected bureaucrats in the

European institutions, which attempt to sideline natural treatments once and

for all.â€

 

-- Dr Robert Verkerk

 

 

According to the international health freedom organization Alliance for

Natural Health (ANH), colloidal silver has now been banned throughout the

European Union.

 

 

This is a major defeat for global colloidal silver community and it may

well ultimately spell disaster for North American colloidal silver users too,

particularly as moves to “harmonize†North American food supplement

regulations with European Union regulations continue.

 

 

 

A Brief Overview of the Global Battle Against Colloidal Silver

 

 

“There are moves all round the world, not just in Europe, to make it

difficult to sell silver as a food supplement because it directly competes with

the antibiotic market.â€

 

-- Meleni Aldridge, Executive Coordinator, Alliance for Natural Health Int’

l

 

 

I’ll cover the European Union ban on colloidal silver in just a moment.

But first, let me give you a brief overview of the global battle now raging

against colloidal silver.

 

 

I’ve been warning for years that the battle to ban colloidal silver is, in

reality, a worldwide battle, with anti-colloidal silver forces operating

on multiple fronts, in multiple countries, using a variety of political

bullying and media propaganda tactics in attempts to ultimately deprive

consumers of their rights to use the world’s most powerful natural

antibiotic.

 

 

Here in the U.S., the FDA tried to ban colloidal silver throughout the 1990

’s, at the behest of the major pharmaceutical companies. After spirited

consumer opposition, they finally admitting in June 1999 that they could find

no legitimate reason to ban its sale.

 

 

Instead, they implemented their infamous “Final Ruling†on colloidal

silver, stating that it was not considered to be “safe or effective†for

treating any disease or condition, and therefore no health claims could be made

for it in advertising or on product labeling.

 

 

Afterwards the FDA embarked on a campaign to prevent colloidal silver

manufacturers and vendors from telling the public about the powerful,

infection-fighting qualities of the substance, by issuing numerous threats in

the

form of official regulatory warnings against offending colloidal silver

vendors.

 

 

Pseudo-medical proxy groups like Quackwatch and a number of others who

shill for the FDA and AMA, have also been used to publicly denigrate colloidal

silver. And sensationalistic television and print media campaigns have

been launched to scare the public into believing colloidal silver is

“unsafe,â€

“toxic†or otherwise harmful.

 

 

Then, in 2009 a coalition of radical environmental groups operating

globally with funding from several major pharmaceutical companies picked up the

anti-colloidal silver baton and sued the Environmental Protection Agency in

an attempt to _force them to regulate silver-based products – including

colloidal silver – as “pesticidesâ€_

(http://colloidalsilversecrets.blogspot.com/2009/01/act-now-to-help-save-colloid\

al-silver.html) and ban them until

manufacturers could prove their products posed no threat to “ecologically

sensitive microorganisms†in the environment.

 

 

This tactic unleashed a flood of opposition from _thousands of angry

colloidal silver users_

(http://colloidalsilversecrets.blogspot.com/2009/02/in-defense-of-colloidal-silv\

er-part-i.html) who called, faxed, emailed and

wrote the EPA, expressing their displeasure at the proposed regulations. This

massive outpouring of citizen displeasure appears to have at least

temporarily forced the EPA to back down.

 

 

The EPA has been tight-lipped since that time, neither confirming nor

denying whether or not their classification of silver as a “pesticide†will

ultimately affect dietary colloidal silver supplements.

 

 

(Side note: When I recently spoke with EPA’s Director of the Office of

Science and Coordination, Joseph Bailey, and point blank asked him whether or

not the EPA intended to regulate colloidal silver, he said “Probably not,

because it’s a nutritional supplement and it’s not being used for

pesticidal purposes.†Knowing that “pesticidal†is the EPA’s euphemism

for “

anti-microbial†in regards to all matters concerning silver, I then said,

“But

we all know colloidal silver is sold and used for the specific purpose of

killing microbes.†He replied, “Under those circumstances, then, I suppose

we

’d have to regulate it.â€)

 

 

Interestingly enough, the environmental groups attempting to force the EPA

to more stringently enforce their “pesticide†laws against silver-based

products have in the interim repeatedly called for colloidal silver to be

_banned as an environmental toxin and a danger to human health and

well-being_

(http://colloidalsilversecrets.blogspot.com/2009/07/ban-all-colloidal-silver-pro\

ducts-or.html) .

 

 

What’s more, all of this has coincided with the advent of the global “

Swine Flu†threat, which saw the FDA step in to repeatedly threaten colloidal

silver vendors against telling consumers that colloidal silver is _effective

against viruses_ (http://www.colloidalsilverkillsviruses.com/) by

_accusing them of committing consumer fraud_

(http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/h1n1flu/detail.cfm?ID=60) if they do.

 

 

Those are the kind of strong-arm tactics being used here in the U.S. to

keep colloidal silver out of the hands of consumers, and to keep consumers in

the dark regarding its remarkable, infection-fighting qualities.

 

 

And of course, it’s all done for the protection of the major global

pharmaceutical companies who want no competition from natural products against

their _basically useless_

(http://secretsofnaturalhealing.blogspot.com/2009/10/are-you-still-considering-f\

lu-vaccine.html) and _potentially dangerous_

(http://secretsofnaturalhealing.blogspot.com/2009/11/death-by-tamiflu-resistant

-swine-flu-or.html) flu drugs, and _potentially deadly vaccines_

(http://secretsofnaturalhealing.blogspot.com/2009/10/multiple-deaths-already-lin\

ked-t

o-swine.html) .

 

 

In Australia, the same kind of thing is happening.

 

 

The Australian Therapeutic Goods Agency (TGA) ruled back in 2002 that

there were “no legitimate medical uses for colloidal silver and no evidence

to

support its marketing claims.†They concluded that " efforts should be made

to curb the illegal availability of colloidal silver products, which is a

significant public health issue. "

 

 

The Australian TGA has now apparently _banned all colloidal silver products

from being sold in Australia if the manufacturer or vendor makes health

claims_ (http://www.tga.gov.au/docs/html/csilver.htm) .

 

 

Indeed, the only exclusion allowing legal colloidal silver sales in

Australia is if the product is sold for use as a “water disinfectant†and

if no

claims whatsoever are made for it.

 

 

That of course hasn’t stopped some Australian colloidal silver vendors

from illegally marketing their product as an oral nutritional supplement and

infection-fighting agent. Nevertheless, the handwriting is on the wall, and

the laws are in place in Australia for a complete ban.

 

 

I am told the same thing is happening in New Zealand, South Africa and

other countries.

 

 

Even our neighbors to the north are not immune. In 2007 Canada’s Health

Canada agency began issuing _“unauthorized product†warnings against

colloidal silver vendors_

(http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2007/2007_115-eng.php)

,“ and simultaneously began soliciting “adverse

reaction reports†against specific colloidal silver products.

 

 

Of course, as we’ve publicly noted, the Canadian health authorities have

no evidence whatsoever that colloidal silver products are unsafe or harmful.

They are simply trying to manufacture evidence by goading their citizens

into making adverse reaction reports, apparently as a means of justifying

planned regulatory actions against colloidal silver manufacturers in the

future.

 

 

The European Ban on Colloidal Silver

 

Okay. Here’s the scoop on the European ban on colloidal silver, which took

effect on January 1, 2010.

 

 

The story actually begins back in 2003. That’s when the European Food

Safety Authority (EFSA) brought into force their infamous Food Supplements

Directive (2002/46/EC) (FSD), which dramatically limited the number of types of

nutrients that could be sold throughout the 27 member nations of the

European Union encompassing most of western Europe and some eastern European

nations.

 

 

This action essentially removed several hundred nutrient ingredients --

including silver – from the marketplace in one fell swoop, making it illegal

to sell thousands of different food supplement products containing those

ingredients.

 

 

Fortunately, the Directive had a derogation clause under Article 4(6) that

allowed unapproved nutrient types that were already on the market at the

time the Directive came into force in 2003 to continue to be sold until the

end of the derogation phase on 31 December 2009.

 

 

Because of the derogation clause, a complete ban on thousands of

nutritional supplement products containing unapproved ingredients – including

colloidal silver -- was temporarily forestalled.

 

 

 

False Sense of Security

 

 

Unfortunately, the extra time granted by the derogation clause apparently

gave European nutritional supplement manufacturers and vendors a false

sense of security.

 

 

Nutrient manufacturers throughout Europe were supposed to use the extra

time to conduct clinical studies and submit dossiers to the European Food

Safety Authority demonstrating the safety, efficacy and bioavailability of the

unapproved ingredients being used in their products, in accord with the

EFSA’s stringent regulatory requirements.

 

 

Unfortunately, many European nutritional supplement manufacturers were

either completely unaware of the requirements to conduct safety, efficacy and

bioavailability studies, and submit the results to the EFSA, or they could

not afford the expensive and time-consuming scientific testing required.

 

 

In the end, they blissfully continued manufacturing and selling products

containing the unapproved ingredients, without submitting the proof demanded

by the EFSA.

 

 

In some cases, some colloidal silver manufacturers who admit to having

known all along about the regulations have personally complained to me that

the required clinical studies were so onerous, stringent and costly that they

simply could not be met.

 

 

Others have complained to me they could not obtain the proper study

protocols from the EFSA. They felt it was ridiculous of the EFSA to require

studies costing as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars, but refuse to

spell

out the protocols for acceptable results.

 

 

Some EU colloidal silver manufacturers have even complained that it

appeared the regulatory requirements were purposefully designed to assure that

as

few unapproved ingredients as possible could survive the approval process.

 

 

Regulatory Roadblocks

 

Silver – the primary active ingredients in colloidal silver -- was

apparently one of those unapproved ingredients the European health authorities

wanted to keep off the market at any cost. As Anders Sultan, owner of

Sweden’s

largest colloidal silver manufacturing firm Ion Silver recently told me:

 

“Conducting a bioavailability study was a must in order to have even a

slim chance of keeping an unapproved ingredient like silver on the market.

 

A study like this is basically the same as a Phase I drug study, costing

in the range of $120,000 U.S. dollars or more.

 

This study wouldn’t be all that’s required, as it only addresses

bioavailability. The EFSA also requires proof of safety and efficacy.

 

So you can see that many hundreds of thousands of dollars in testing would

have to be spent, and even after that there was no guarantee the EFSA

would approve the ingredient for use in nutritional supplements.â€

 

 

When I mentioned that someone must have at least tried to conduct the

studies needed to keep colloidal silver on the market in Europe, Sultan

replied:

 

“Natural-Immunogenics, who as you know is a large and well-known colloidal

silver manufacturer based in America, also sells their product in Europe.

 

 

My understanding is that they had set out to conduct a bioavailability

study in accord with EFSA requirements. But they apparently never got a final

conclusive study off the ground because they couldn’t get the EFSA to

cooperate with them.

 

 

The EFSA apparently failed to give them formal guidelines explaining how

the study needed to be conducted in order for the results to be accepted as

evidence on silver’s behalf.â€

 

 

I can only surmise that Natural-Immunogenics didn’t want to spend over

$100,000 conducting a bioavailability study, only to be told afterwards that

their study protocols didn’t meet the EFSA’s requirements.

 

 

A news article _published on the NutraIngredients.com web site_

(http://www.nutraingredients.com/Regulation/EFSA-questions-nano-silver-safety-in\

-supplem

ents) back in December 2008 explains that the EFSA was apparently

unhappy with the initial data submitted by Natural-Immunogenics on behalf of

their “silver hydrosol†product. The EFSA appears to have kept upping the

ante

until the required documentation was simply too onerous to produce.

 

 

In short, it appears the EFSA didn’t deal in good faith with

Natural-Immunogenics, to say the least, a sentiment echoed privately to me by

other

European colloidal silver vendors in regards to their own efforts.

 

 

Indeed, many European food supplements manufactures now privately complain

that unfair roadblocks were put up in order to prevent supplements

containing unapproved ingredients like silver from being transferred to the

Positive List. In many ways, European colloidal silver vendors tell me, the

deck

was simply stacked against silver and other “unapproved†ingredients from

the start.

 

 

Dirty Tricks

 

 

What’s more, even major European health freedom organizations such as the

Alliance for Natural Health -- who oppose the inclusion of colloidal silver

on the banned list --- have complained that they were “not among the

interests who were invited to submit comment†regarding changes to the

European

Commission draft regulations covering food supplements.

 

 

It was these draft regulations that ultimately resulted in the EU-wide ban

on the sale of common minerals supplements such as colloidal silver.

 

 

This apparently purposeful exclusion of the Alliance for Natural Health

from the public portion of the regulatory process was likely because they

had, back in 2005, successfully challenged the EU Food Supplements Directive

through the European Court of Justice, resulting -- much to the chagrin of

the EFSA -- in some key regulatory reversals benefitting nutritional

supplement manufacturers. This included getting natural sources of vitamins and

minerals (such as food) eliminated from regulatory overview.

 

 

The ANH is now fighting the 2010 food supplement ban on the basis that it

may well _contravene EU law_

(http://www.anhcampaign.org/news/anh-press-release-food-supplement-ban-in-2010-m\

ay-contravene-eu-law) . And they may soon

be helping EU supplement manufacturers pursue legal action against EU “

health claims†regulations on the basis that they _violate freedom of speech_

(http://www.anhcampaign.org/news/jonathan-emord-affirms-eu-health-claims-regu

lation-basis-for-legal-challenge) and thereby infringe on consumer

welfare by preventing them from learning more about the qualities of

nutritional

supplements.

 

 

What the Alliance for Natural Health Says

About the European Silver Ban

 

We asked the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH), which has been described

as Europe’s foremost health freedom organization, to give us a better

understanding of the colloidal silver ban. Here’s what they wrote:

 

 

Dear Steve

 

It is unfortunately true that silver, in all forms in food supplements,

has become illegal to market in Europe from the 1st January 2010.

 

 

This is because the Food Supplements Directive (2002/46/EC) (FSD), which

came into force in 2005, had a 4 year derogation phase built into it, where

forms of vitamins and minerals not on the Positive List of approved forms

would be allowed to be sold until 31st December 2009.

 

 

Silver is one of the forms of minerals that has been unsuccessful so far

in gaining a positive approval to be allowed for ongoing legal sale and this

means that all silver products should have been removed from the shelves

at the beginning of this year. This is Europe-wide and not just in the UK.

 

 

Whilst we have been trying very hard to alert companies and consumers to

the loss of many supplement products in 2010, we understand that there are

many people who still are not aware of what is happening.

 

 

This political technique, called ‘gradualism’, is effective in lulling

people into a false sense of security because the widespread bans predicted

when the FSD came into force didn’t happen immediately. However, they are

happening this year and there are now only 181 approved forms of vitamins and

minerals for sale in Europe. All others are technically illegal.

 

 

It isn’t just silver that will be going off the shelves, there are many

others too e.g. vanadium. If you’ve read the press release, then you’ll

have

access to the Draft Regulation via a link at the end. Here you’ll be able

to view the Positive List in Annex I and Annex II

(_http://www.anhcampaign.org/news/anh-press-release-food-supplement-ban-in-2010-\'>http://www.anhcampaign.org/news/anh-press-release-food-supplement-ban-in-2010-\

may-contravene-eu-law_

(http://www.anhcampaign.org/news/anh-press-release-food-supplement-ban-in-20

10-may-contravene-eu-law) ).

 

 

I’m not sure if you’re signed up to receive our eBlasts, but they are a

good way to stay abreast of what is happening (_http://www.anhcampaign

..org/user/register_ (http://www.anhcampaign.org/user/register) ).

 

 

The good news is that the Positive List remains permanently open so

companies/manufacturers are able to make another application for silver to be

added to the list. The other side of the coin, however, is that there are

moves all round the world, not just in Europe, to make it difficult to sell

silver as a food supplement because it directly competes with the antibiotic

market. Although, the official line is that there is insufficient data

regarding safety and this is a consumer protection issue!

 

 

… We don’t intend to let this one lie and hope in particular to support a

manufacturer with a dossier application for silver. The application would

ideally need to be completed by a manufacturer given the requirements for

scientific data proving safety, efficacy and bioavailability.

 

 

I hope this helps to clarify the legislative situation regarding silver in

the EU for you and we will keep our supporters posted with any changes.

 

 

Best wishes

 

Meleni Aldridge Executive Coordinator

Alliance for Natural Health International

The Atrium, Curtis Road

Dorking, Surrey RH1 1XA

United Kingdom

_www.anhinternational.org_ (http://www.anhinternational.org)

_www.anh-europe.org_ (http://www.anh-europe.org)

_http://www.anh-usa.org/_ (http://www.anh-usa.org/)

 

 

Additional Confirmation from the ANH

 

 

We thank Meleni Aldridge and the ANH for that great overview, and urge

readers to learn more by following through on the links provided.

 

 

In a recent ANH press release, they further confirm the EU ban on numerous

nutritional supplement ingredients, including silver:

 

The natural products industry in the UK, as well as in other EU Member

States, has been asked to approve changes even before the draft Regulation

amending the EU Food Supplements Directive of 2002 has been ratified in

Europe. The reason given for the rush is the desire to stick to the date given

in

the 2002 Directive, which states that the derogation phase expires on 31

December 2009.

 

 

This means that any vitamin or mineral forms not complying with the new

list of approved forms, as given in the draft Regulation as proposed by the

European Commission, will be banned as of 1 January 2010.

 

 

The draft Regulation adds just 69 additional vitamin and mineral forms to

the previous list of 112 forms. All other vitamin and minerals forms will

be banned, this affecting hundreds of products that have been selling

freely, under the derogation, in more liberal Member States such as the UK.

Amongst the casualties are all food supplements containing vanadium or silver,

as well as many mineral amino acid chelates.

 

 

 

Coming Soon to America

 

As ANH Director Dr. Robert Verkerk has stated:

 

 

“Europe is emerging as the epicenter of the problem when it comes to

disproportionate legislation on natural products and claims as to their

benefits.

 

But how contagious is this approach? Very, it seems.

 

Indeed, the push for global harmonization of European-style natural health

laws is gaining serious momentum.

 

Now, the ultimate bastion of free speech, the USA, is seriously threatened

by precisely the same process that is well underway in the European Union.

 

 

Here's a link to the draft regulations explaining which vitamin and

mineral ingredients can now legally be added to foods and food supplements in

the

European Union. You’ll note that silver is not on the list of approved

supplement ingredients:

_http://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2009/tbt/eec/09_2752_00_e.pdf_

(http://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2009/tbt/eec/09_2752_00_e.pdf)

 

 

 

Part III Coming…

 

In a few days to a week, I’ll be posting Part III in this series of a

rticles on “Colloidal Silver Banned in Europe.â€

 

 

In Part III, you’ll learn about a nifty little loophole in the new

European law that some EU colloidal silver vendors are successfully using, for

now, to continue selling colloidal silver in spite of the ban. Will the

loophole last long? We’ll discuss the situation with the head of one of the

largest colloidal silver vendors in Sweden, and let you know!

 

 

You’ll also learn more about the growing threat of the Codex Alimentarius

laws, which constitute the “harmonization†(with emphasis on harm) of U.S.

food supplement laws with European food supplement laws, and what that

means to you.

 

 

And finally, you’ll learn why, if we allow U.S. nutritional supplement

laws to be “harmonized†with European food supplement laws and colloidal

silver sales are banned here, also, there’s one significant stumbling block

that could actually thwart the ability of U.S. colloidal silver vendors from

using the same loophole European colloidal silver vendors are presently

attempting to use in order to keep colloidal silver on the market.

 

 

As you’ll see in the upcoming Part III of this series, it’s all the more

reason to fight against the growing move to “harmonize†U.S. food

supplement laws with European food supplement laws!

 

 

So stay tuned…

 

And in the meantime, stay healthy!

Spencer Jones

 

 

 

Helpful Links:

 

 

_Colloidal Silver Kills Viruses_

(http://www.colloidalsilverkillsviruses.com/)

_Colloidal Silver Cures MRSA_ (http://www.colloidalsilvercuresmrsa.com/)

_Make Your Own Colloidal Silver_ (http://www.thesilveredge.com/)

_The Colloidal Silver Secrets Video_

(http://www.colloidalsilversecretsvideo.com/)

_The New Micro-Particle Colloidal Silver Generator_

(http://www.microparticlegenerator.com/)

_The Ultimate Colloidal Silver Manual_

(http://www.ultimatecolloidalsilvermanual.com/)

_Unique Nutritional Supplements_ (http://thesilveredge.com/nsupp.shtml)

_Underground Publications that Could Save Your Life_

(http://www.lifeandhealthresearchgroup.com/)

_The Authoritative Guide to Vaccine Legal Exemptions_

(http://spencerj11.vaccrights.hop.clickbank.net/)

_Secrets of Natural Healing blog_

(http://www.secretsofnaturalhealing.blogspot.com/)

_Colloidal Silver Secrets blog_

(http://www.colloidalsilversecrets.blogspot.com/)