FOOD SUPPLEMENTS DIRECTIVE (No.1)

Early day motion 966, tabled 26 March 2003 by Liam Fox (Conservative). Signed by 53 members.

That this House is concerned that recent Government statements about the Food Supplements Directive state that it will allow continued use of substances not on the permitted lists where products comply with existing UK food safety legislation; notes that, in fact, the directive permits such products to continue on the market only until 2009 and even then only providing that a full safety dossier is submitted by July 2005; further notes that of the 300 nutrients which do not appear in the lists accompanying the directive, dossiers are only in preparation for around 12 owing to the high cost of producing those dossiers and meeting the information requirements for many of those nutrients; further notes that statements from Ministers that unlisted ingredients could be replaced and products reformulated do not take into account the cost implications of such steps and the changes to product character that would result; and urges the Government to pursue the matter with the European Commission to ensure that nutrients and nutrient sources are not banned if they are safe and appropriately labelled.

Signatures by party: Conservative 41, UUP 4, Labour 3, Liberal Democrat 2, Plaid Cymru 2, Independent Conservative 1.