Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-03-12-Speech-2-299"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20020312.12.2-299"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, I must confess to being quite astonished! We are speaking about products that are on the market today and are asking why we need to provide evidence of their safety! I can tell you why: because it has to be done for every last bit of artificial colouring that goes into your
and for every preservative that is added to jam, and because we have always resolutely proclaimed in this forum that consumer safety is important. For this reason a product cannot be deemed marketable unless it can be proved safe and harmless. This is surely easy to demonstrate for any product that has already been on the market for some time.
Moreover, I must also express my astonishment at the references to divergent systems. I do not know what you are talking about. I understood neither Mrs Oomen-Ruijten’s reference to these divergences nor Mrs Jackson’s. In Germany you can go into any drugstore at all, into any supermarket, and you will be perfectly free to buy vitamins, calcium or whatever you want in various different dosages. I have nothing against that. Nor do I object to these products remaining freely obtainable. I do wish, however, to see the introduction of a maximum dose – yes, a maximum dose is something I do want to see. People like myself, for example, who have the misfortune to suffer from kidney stones, must not take too much Vitamin C, because it crystallises. People like me must also be careful with calcium, and we have to know these things. This is why labelling is needed; this is why safety is paramount.
Anyone who stands up today like Patricia McKenna and says that the adoption of this directive would force products off the market is misleading people. I take no pleasure in saying this, Patricia, because our opinions often concur. It is not true that a single safe product will disappear from today’s market. All manufacturers must be able to demonstrate the safety of their products. Every single manufacturer must be able to do that. For each and every product we buy – for all our cosmetics, our pharmaceutical products, our artificial sweeteners – we expect proof of safety. And are we now saying that we do not expect the same for food supplements? Surely food manufacturers will then come along to us and say, ‘Why must we prove that our muesli bars are safe?’ And they would be right to do so. They would then be exempted in future too. At that point they could start making their products with genetically modified organisms and whatever else. Why should anyone then have to demonstrate the safety of any product?
Goodness knows that I have been involved for long enough in matters of consumer protection in this House. I believe my reputation goes before me in that respect. I tell all the people who call me that none of the products they can now buy will be taken off the market. I shall ensure that they are informed in future about any product they buy and whether it is safe. It makes no difference to me whether the evidence has to be produced within 24 or 30 months, but the evidence must be produced.
I congratulate Mrs Müller on her excellent report, which will have my unreserved support tomorrow."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples