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Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

Answer

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the role and status of the Codex Alimentarius Commission; what progress has been made by that Commission in considering trade in dietary supplements; what his Department contributes to the discussions of that Commission; and what policy objectives are being pursued by his Department in that context. [80627] Mr. Rooker: [holding answer 13 April 1999]: The Codex Alimentarius Commission is an FAO/WHO-- sponsored intergovernmental body charged with the development of food standards to protect the health of consumers and facilitate international trade. The Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses has been discussing the elaboration of guidelines for dietary supplements containing vitamins and minerals for a number of years. When the draft guidelines were last discussed in September 1998 the UK argued, as it has done in the past, that maximum limits on the vitamin and mineral content of supplements should only be based on safety considerations. A similar line was taken by a number of other participants. But because there was a general lack of consensus on this, and other aspects of the proposal, little progress was made. The draft guidelines will not now be discussed again until the year 2000.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

80627; 329 c294W

Session

1998-99

Subjects

Dietary supplements Food Standards Safety Vitamins Codex Alimentarius Commission