Legislation
Euro food laws ruled illegal
Controversial new European laws controlling the sale of vitamins and other food supplements were declared illegal by a judge today.
5 April 2005
The health food rules infringe basic EU principles of "legal protection, legal certainty and sound administration", said an Advocate-General at the European Court of Justice.
The rules are due in force in August and affect thousands of products in British shops,
The interim "opinion" is a victory for the British health food industry's legal challenge to an EU Directive which, say campaigners, will ban thousands of common food supplements and bankrupt many suppliers.
Advocate-General Leendert Geelhoed said the Food Supplements Directive lacked clearly defined rules and norms for the European Commission to follow when deciding whether a product be allowed on the list.
The declaration is merely advisory, but in a majority of European Court cases the judges follow the advice of the Advocate-General.
Copyright © 2005 Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited.
