The natural health industry must be on its guard as it enters 2015, a year that could see political upheaval in Britain and renewed regulatory activity in Brussels.
That was the warning given at the annual Consumers for Health Choice (CHC) Parliamentary reception, which was held at the House of Commons yesterday evening.
The event, co-hosted by Labour’s Kate Hoey and the Conservative MP, Marcus Jones, and sponsored by Holland & Barrett, saw leading industry figures and CHC supporters gather with MPs and Peers.
Setting the scene, CHC chair Michael Peet said that the main focus in 2015 would continue to be the setting of maximum levels for vitamins and minerals. He said that the combination of a new EU health commissioner (Vytenis Andriukaitis) and the influx of new MEPs last year had created uncertainty and fresh challenges. The additional upheaval of a British General Election meant that 2015 would be a “crucial one” for the industry. Peet warned that the multinational supplements companies, who would welcome low-level MPLs, were lobbying hard during the current period of political flux to achieve “harmonization at any cost”.
But he added: “I pledge today that CHC will not let up its fight one iota. We have already begun to ensure that key members of the new European Parliament elected at the end of May are fully briefed about out aims.” He said CHC would also be “pressing the new (UK) minister after the election to take a proactive approach to ensure that the commissioner is well aware of the strong opposition in the UK to the setting of MPLs – we’re determined that the British Government will push on any open door that may exist.”
Kate Hoey also warned of the “continuing threat to consumer choice threatened by the imposition of low maximum levels for products that well-studied and safe.” She added that there was a real risk to the livelihoods of thousands of people who work in specialist health food stores if low MPLs were set. “This is hardly conducive to the economic growth that the European Commission proclaims is its overriding priority.”
Marcus Jones (pictured above) said that although 2014 had been a “relatively quiet” year on the MPLs front, “we should be extremely wary because while this issue is on the back burner there is a very real chance that it could be brought forward quite quickly – so we need to be on a guard”.
“I think it’s completely absurd that that the European Commission can come forward with, and regulate, something that is safe and well established in our country”
He added: “I think it’s completely absurd that that the European Commission can come forward with, and regulate, something that is safe and well established in our country. If products do not cause harm, I can see no reason why European, or any other, legislative bodies have any good reason to create further legislation. And if we look at what happened across the EU during the last set of European elections in May, we find that voters want to see a more hands-off European Union rather than EU that is trying to regulate everything in sight.
“I hope that working with CHC, we can all help to nudge the Commission in the right direction. And I thik that whatever colour of government we end up with next May here in Britain, that it should hold the Commission to account on this issue and continue to fight the corner for CHC and British consumers.”
