Over two years after launching its legal challenge to the “illegalities” of the EC’s approach to health claims regulation, the HFMA this week finally had its day in Court.
The HFMA, together with the Dutch trade association NPN, filed an application in the General Court of the European in July 2013. The “last resort action” aims to annul the controversial Permitted List Regulation, requiring the Commission to “correct the flaws in its approach and produce the permitted list more in keeping with the original spirit and intention of the ‘Parent Regulation’, the Nutrition and Health Claims.”
Commenting on the day the case was heard in Court, HFMA executive director, Graham Keen, said: “We are obviously very pleased to have finally got to have our day in Court, and a chance to help defend our industry, members and consumers against this hugely flawed and badly implemented Regulation. We initiated this legal action back in July of 2012 as a ‘last resort’ when our serious concerns about many aspects of the implementation of the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation were falling on deaf ears.” said Graham Keen, Executive Director of the HFMA.
“Once again, the HFMA has shown the will to take difficult but important actions necessary to protect our industry. We are grateful for the support in this action of our partners from the Dutch trade association Natuur-en Gezondheidsproducten Nederland (NPN), along with our Co-Applicant member companies Natures Aid and Quest Vitamins from the UK and New Care Supplements from the Netherlands. We also thank the Italian trade association Federsalus, which intervened into the action in our support and last, but certainly not least, our lawyer Brian Kelly and the excellent legal team from Covington & Burling.
“We now await the judgment of the Court, and hope that they will come to the right decision. We obviously hope that the Court will find in our favour, but whatever the outcome it will be important to have clarity from the Court on this vital issue for industry.”
