HC Deb 10 April 2002 vol 383 cc414-5W
Mr. Swayne

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed EU Directive on Foods and Supplements on the ability of patients who choose to treat themselves to continue to do so; and if he will make a statement. [44271]

Yvette Cooper

The proposed Directive would establish lists of permitted vitamin and mineral sources and a framework for setting maximum permitted levels. The lists would remain open for seven years pending safety assessments for additional substances, and individual maximum permitted levels have not yet been set. The Directive would not immediately outlaw any products that are currently on the market in the United Kingdom; in the longer term its impact would depend on future developments on additions to the lists and setting of maximum levels.

Mr. Swayne

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures he plans to take to implement the EU Directive on Food Supplements; what impact the Directive will have on the continued availability of products that can currently be used; and if he will make a statement. [44288]

Yvette Cooper

The Government intend to implement the proposed EU Directive as agreed, taking full advantage of the opportunity we have secured for Member States to allow continued sale for up to seven years of products containing vitamin and mineral sources not on the permitted lists. The Food Standards Agency is responsible for preparing implementing legislation and will be consulting widely on draft Regulations.

The impact of the Directive on the continued availability of products currently on the market would depend on future developments on maximum limits and lists of permitted nutrients. We are firmly committed to the view that, in the interests of consumer choice, the law should allow food supplements which are safe and properly labelled to be freely marketed.

Mr. Swayne

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received regarding the EU Directive on Food Supplements; and if he will make a statement. [44270]

Yvette Cooper

Several letters and telephone calls have been received recently from industry, consumers and health practitioners such as nutrition therapists. Broadly, these have expressed concerns over the potential for the Directive on food supplements to restrict the availability of some vitamin and mineral supplements, especially those which contain high doses of individual nutrients.