Bill Newton Dunn MEP welcomes ECJ opinion on 'invalid' EU Food Supplements Directive

2.24.47pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 7th Apr 2005

Advocate-General Judge Geelhoed of The European Court of Justice has this morning delivered his recommendation that the imminent EU ban on some vitamins and mineral supplements is invalid.

The Advocate-General has recommended that the Court annul the proposed EU law on the grounds that it is disproportionate and fails to offer either legal certainty or clarity about what is permissible.

East Midland's Liberal Democrat MEP Bill Newton Dunn said: "Hopefully this heralds a victory for freedom of choice, for consumers, and for supplements manufacturers. This EU law has attracted wide criticism that it is guilty of nanny meddling and regulatory overkill with this piece of legislation."

"Most of the condemned supplements have been used safely in this country for years. Concerns about the effects of taking more than the recommended daily allowance could be addressed with better labeling rather than a ban."

British campaigners from the Alliance for Natural Health, Nutri-Link and National Association of Health Stores got the case referred by the English High Court to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

The next stage in the case is for the judges of the European Court of Judges to meet to take a decision on the opinion of Judge Geelhoed. No date has been set, but the procedure is normally five to six months after the opinion.

The EU Food Supplements Directive, which was due to take effect from August 2005, entails that hundreds of vitamin and mineral supplements in the UK would have to be taken off the shelves. The intended ban outraged manufacturers, retailers, practitioners and consumers reliant on these products across Europe.

European Liberal Democrat MEPs voted overwhelmingly against the Directive's adoption when it was brought before the European Parliament. When it came to implementation in national law, the UK government, which had supported the Directive in Brussels, used its majority to whip the legislation through the House of Commons.