Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-03-12-Speech-2-292"
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"en.20020312.12.2-292"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, I should first of all like to congratulate Mrs Müller on her consistent, expert and tenacious approach. Her work currently has great significance. The food supplements market is growing fast. Food supplements can make a positive contribution to health. Anyone who can afford it is keen to buy good health. However, it is obvious that quality is not always guaranteed. We must therefore separate the chaff from the wheat. The consumer is entitled to a safe product and sound information.
In the field of food supplements, large industrial interests are at stake. We have already gathered this from the thousands of
mails, four books, video cassettes and postcards in support of the cause of the producers. In the magazine ‘The Rapporteur’, the vitamin lobby campaign was described as counter-productive. If only! Unfortunately, a number of fellow MEPs, mainly from the liberal and green groups, have fallen for this lobby.
I recently received 35 letters from anxious consumers. I did not receive them directly but via the industry, which immediately makes one wonder. The letters were written by people who said that they benefited from taking multi-vitamin tablets and that they had heard that the European Parliament would ban them henceforth. A clear example of misinformation. Multi-vitamin tablets can still be taken. Only when they contain substances or compounds which do not feature on the extensive list must the manufacturer prove that they are safe. Is that too much to ask?
Anyone who claims that hardly any damage has occurred involving food supplements to date is probably right. However, their use has so far been restricted. Only latterly has the market grown and do high-dose tablets appear in the shops. Safety must be the main concern. Producers have 18 months in which to demonstrate that their products are safe. This appears to me to be sufficient time, but I have no problem with extending this period to 24 months.
The directive is of huge importance, and it is futile to regulate safety for each Member State individually. We do not do this for food either. With regard to food supplements, there is currently no internal market, but many different, national rules. We must set up this internal market for food supplements. In my personal opinion, the internal market is a great good, provided, however, that it prescribes common standards at a high level, which is where this directive comes in. The Commission has laid down a solid foundation for the establishment of maximum safety levels for vitamins and minerals, and that also forms the basis for consumer confidence. I would urge you to vote for this directive."@en1
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