Dietary Supplements (Hansard, 27 February 1992)

§ Mr. Gummer

In March last year the Government published a report by officials from the Department of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on dietary supplements and health foods. The report was not a statement of policy but was intended to provide a basis for discussion. It was circulated to some 160 trade, consumer and other organisations for comment. Last December the European Commission issued a discussion paper on possible future controls on dietary supplements which covered much of the same ground as our earlier report. Views on the Commission paper were invited from all those who had commented on our report.

In the light of all the comments that we have received on the two documents we have concluded that there is a good case for the introduction of some specific controls on dietary supplements. However, we believe that a balance needs to be struck between on the one hand ensuring public health together with clear labelling information and, on the other hand, maintaining the availability of safe products for which there is clearly a strong public demand.

We have recently submitted our views on future legislation to the European Commission in the form of an outline draft directive on dietary supplements. I have arranged for copies of the draft to be sent to all those who responded to the consultation exercises and to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament.

At this stage we are only seeking to establish the broad framework for a directive. Regulatory regimes for supplements differ considerably throughout the Community and it will be important to settle questions of principle before we move on to more technical matters.

I understand that the Commission is due to hold a preliminary discussion on dietary supplements in early March. We will continue to keep all the interests involved informed on the progress of these discussions and will be consulting further on particular detailed issues such as the maximum daily dose limits which might be laid down for individual supplements.