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CODEX GUIDELINES on DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS, Part II
June 18, 2005
Action for U. S. Consumers to take to maintain access to
Vitamin and Mineral Supplements
"Codex" is a broad, rambling, quilt-like enterprise managed
by the Codex Alimentarius Commission officially created in 1963 jointly
through the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) under the United Nations, but existing in practice
for more
than a decade preceding its official creation. The Codex Commission
manages the Codex Alimentarius or international code of food trade guidelines
consisting of about 2000 guidelines on pesticide, food additive and
other toxic residues in food and about 500 food guidelines or standards.
Codex is an international, voluntary, science-based, food standard
setting system having relatively little formal impact until the activation
of the World Trade Organization on January 1, 1995. The WTO is
empowered to determine whether a nation's import prohibitions are improper
trade barriers or are properly designed, based on sound science, to
protect consumers. WTO identified Codex as one science based standards-setting
body on which it would rely.
Under this structure, if one country prohibits another from shipping
a product or class of products across its borders, the country blocked
from shipping can engage the WTO dispute resolution system. This system
concludes, after various deliberations and appeals including reference
to Codex, with a determination that the first country was either justified
in blocking the import or not. The process seeks voluntary resolution
between the disputing countries.
If the process finds against a blocking country, the WTO can issue
a trade sanction by determining how many dollars of trade the improper
barrier has cost the shipping country and authorizing the shipping country
to place tariffs of an equal amount on imports to it from the offending
country. As an example, the WTO prevented Europe from blocking Pacific
sardines from Peru because the Codex sardine standard recognized Peruvian
sardines.
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/envir_e/envir_backgrnd_e/c7s5_e.htm
The Codex vitamin and mineral guidelines, being reviewed for addition
to the Codex Alimentarius at the Codex Commission July 4 to 9 Rome meeting,
fit into this system. If adopted, any country prohibiting vitamin or
mineral imports can be challenged by the exporting country, expecting
WTO to base its finding on the Codex guideline. Germany and Belgium,
for example, restrict vitamin and minerals sales, often requiring them
to be treated as drugs.
The U.S. Dietary Supplement Safety and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA)
establishes the least restrictive vitamin and mineral rules in the world.
Most American exporters accept the limited access to the more closed
markets of the world implied by the Codex guidelines, even though they
are more restrictive than DSHEA. For supplement consumers, however,
the prospect of restrictive market rules becoming the international
norm poses a serious danger.
ACTIONS
1. Urge the U.S. Codex delegation to promote the principles of DSHEA
as the international standard. For more information, go to Citizens
for Health home http://www.citizens.org/
or Codex Action at
http://www.healthactioncenter.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=26659
2. Urge Codex and all international food safety agencies to use nutrition
science principles rather than toxic chemical evaluation principles
to determine useful levels of nutrients. see
http://www.alliance-natural-health.org/index.cfm?action=news&ID=129
3. Urge an international standard that, like DSHEA, places the burden
of proof of each element of the safety standard on regulatory authorities.
Join the Natural Solutions Foundation unique petition to the Codex office
urging it to promote DSHEA as the international standard. see
http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/action/petition.shtml
4. Urge recognition of dietary supplements and biochemical individuality
as integral to any strategy advancing individual nutritional status.
Urge the Codex delegates to read Biochemical Individuality by Roger
J. William by sending them the following link: http://neon.cm.utexas.edu/williams/
Send to
.
5. Urge the Codex committee on general principles to promote widespread
use of true and accurate informative health claims for nutrient supplements.
The current state of Nutrition and Health Claims worldwide is set out
in World Health Organization Report (WHO) - 'Nutrition labels and health
claims: the global regulatory environment' at
http://www.nceff.com.au/regulatory/reg-news2004-3.htm
You can collectively accomplish these five actions by sending the following
message to
The Docket Clerk, Docket number 05-003N
U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Food Safety and Inspection Service,
300 12th Street, SW.,
Room 102 Cotton Annex,
Washington, DC 20250
or by e-mail
.
Message:
To the FSIS Docket Clerk Docket 05-003N
With regard to the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special
Dietary Uses I strongly urge the U.S. Codex Delegates to advocate for
and the Codex Alimentarius Commission to enact postponement of the adoption
of the Proposed Vitamin and Mineral Guidelines being considered at the
28th meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. I urge this postponement
to be until and unless the guidelines are amended to adopt an international
standard based on the principle of the U.S. Dietary Supplement Health
and Education Act.
The international standard for vitamins, minerals and other dietary
supplements should recognize dietary supplements and biochemical individuality
as integral to any strategy advancing individual and social
nutritional status; use nutrition science principles rather than toxic
chemical evaluation principles to determine appropriate and useful levels
of nutrients; place the burden of proof of each element of the safety
standard on regulatory authorities; and promote widespread use of true,
accurate and informative health claims for nutrient supplements.
I thank you for your consideration of my comments.
Sincerely,
[your name and address]
Please send additional copies to
U.S. Codex Delegate
Barbara O. Schneeman, Ph.D.
Director
Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling and Dietary Supplements
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA (HFS 800)
US Food and Drug Administration
5100 Paint Branch Parkway
College Park, MD 20740
Phone: (301) 436-2373
Fax: (301) 436-2636
and
To the Weston A. Price Foundation at
In addition consumers should email their members of the House of Representatives
and the Senate to oppose The Central America Free Trade Agreement/Free
Trade of the Americas Agreement (CAFTA/FTAA)
http://www.stopcafta.org/ until
and unless it recognizes the principles of DSHEA as the international
standard for Dietary Supplement Trade.
The Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) was signed by trade
representatives from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, the
U.S. and later Costa Rica at the end of January. The governments of
Central America were forced to concede to the demands of the Bush administration
on most key elements of the agreement. But, the fight against CAFTA
is far from over. In order for CAFTA to become official it must be approved-
along with all necessary implementing legislation by the National
Assemblies (Congress) of each participating country. Dietary supplement
users should oppose CAFTA until and unless Congress adopts regulations
allowing consumers freedom to use supplements as they choose.
Despite tremendous popular opposition to the agreement in Central America
at present, it seems clear that stopping CAFTA will have to happen in
the United States Congress. Members of Congress are hearing a lot these
days from their constituents about the negative impact of "free"
trade. Now more than ever it is critical to tell your congressperson
to say No to CAFTA, Yes to Jobs, Yes to small farmers, Yes to equality
and Yes to Health Freedom and unfettered access to Dietary Supplements.
Go to
http://www.stopcafta.org/ to
contact Congress.
The US Codex official website is
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/Codex_
News_&_Comments_Requested/index.asp
The official international CODEX website is:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/Codex_
News_&_Comments_Requested/index.asp
For Further Information Contact:
U.S. Codex Office
Room 4861, South Building
Washington, DC 20250-3700
Phone: (202) 205-7760
Fax: (202) 720-3157
This alert was prepared by Jim Turner, general counsel to the Weston
A. Price Foundation.
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