§ Mr. StunellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the EU meetings held in 2003 which(a) Ministers and (b) officials from the Department have attended where the maximum permitted level of nutrients in food supplements was discussed; and if he will make a statement. [141410]
§ Mr. MacShaneThe Food Supplements Directive 2002 lays out a framework for the setting of maximum permitted levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements. Following this, the European Commission has to make a proposal listing EU maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements. It has not yet done so and we do not expect it to do so for another two-three years. Until such time it is unlikely that there will be any EU meetings dedicated to the discussion of these levels and there have been none in 2003.
The UK has taken every opportunity to argue that maximum levels should be set on the basis of food safety. In 2003, Food Standards Agency officials attended two scientific meetings at which maximum permitted levels were discussed in the context of risk assessment.