We usually publish our newsletter on Tuesday. We held it overnight in order to report on the outcome of the Senate HELP Committee's "FDA Food Safety Modernization Act" (Food Safety) mark up hearing. This hearing would decide whether to amend the dangerous Codex provision. The decision would have a momentous impact on the future of dietary supplements.
During the past few weeks, we met with most HELP Committee Senate offices to discuss our concerns and request an amendment to the Codex language in the Food Safety bill. Why were we so concerned? Because the original legislative language appeared to commit the US to the concept of harmonization of our food and supplement safety laws with a global standard. This global standard in turn is very likely to reflect European standards which are extremely hostile to dietary supplements.
Thanks to the amendment, the bill no longer requires the development of a plan "to harmonize requirements under the Codex Alimentarius". Now the bill calls for a plan "on whether and how to harmonize requirements under the Codex Alimentarius" (§306, p. 116).
As will be evident, we have not succeeded in eliminating the Codex provision entirely. This is because the Senate wants to keep open the option of adopting some Codex rules while protecting dietary supplements from the harsh European regime. The language of the amendment means that we will have to remain very vigilant and probably refight the same battle over again in the future. But at least the US has avoided committing itself to the concept of Codex harmonization. And this is a very important legislative victory.
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Victory in the Senate for Alternative Health Freedom and Dietary Supplements
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Victory in The Senate
American Association for Health Freedom, November 18, 2009
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