Codex: South Africa May Not Attend Nutrition Committee Meeting in Bonn
As the fight against a restrictive Codex Alimentarius Guideline on food supplements is approaching its final act, some disturbing news reaches us from South Africa: The minister of health has apparently ordered the SA delegation not to attend this year's Codex Nutrition Committee meeting in Bonn, Germany, scheduled for early November.
South Africa has been the only country to oppose the restrictions planned by Codex Alimentarius international guidelines and to call for a relatively free regime for nutritional products, which could revolutionize health care world wide.
Anthony Rees of the Herbology and Optimal Nutrition Education and Research Institute, sounds the alarm. There may be international political pressure on South Africa brought to bear by pharma interests causing this abrupt about-face, as the Codex guideline goes into its last steps.
Update 27 September 2004:
I am informed that the decision (for the South African delegation not to attend the Bonn meeting) has been reversed. Thank you to all who may have had a hand in bringing about this change of mind.
See also related:
South Africa breaks ranks at Codex Nutrition Committee
Codex and the Titanic's Deck Chairs
South Africa: Traditional Medicine to Fight AIDS, Poverty
Codex: Labelling Committee Asked to Allow Information on Food Preventive Effects
South Africa Opposes Codex Rule on Food Health Information
posted by Sepp Hasslberger on Tuesday September 21 2004
updated on Tuesday December 21 2010URL of this article:
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2004/09/21/codex_south_africa_may_not_attend_nutrition_committee_meeting_in_bonn.htm
Related ArticlesSouth Africa Opposes Codex Rule on Food Health Information
The international food standard setting body, Codex Alimentarius has been deliberating a giudeline to determine what information food product labels may contain. The draft guideline, which is ready to be adopted at the next meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Geneva, Switzerland, to be held from 28 June to 3 July 2004, says that no information may be given regarding any food's effects for the prevention, alleviation or cure... [read more]
June 12, 2004 - Sepp HasslbergerCodex Nutrition Committee: Supplement Guidelines Final
Tuesday 2 November 2004 - The Codex Alimentarius Nutrition Committee sitting in a week-long conclave here in Bonn, formerly the capital of Germany, has concluded its deliberations of proposed international Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Supplements. I am sitting in this meeting together with Scott Tips and Paul Taylor of the National Health Federation, one of the only consumer-centered bodies allowed in the meetings, and certainly the only NGO that... [read more]
November 03, 2004 - Sepp HasslbergerCodex Alimentarius - Optimizing Nutrient Intakes
During the annual meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Committee on Nutrition and Foods For Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) in November 2003, a decision was made to establish an electronic working group to set new nutrient reference values for the labelling of food products. Work on this is proceeding and indeed, the National Health Federation (NHF) has recently made a well documented proposal for optimized nutrient reference values that would -... [read more]
April 20, 2004 - Sepp Hasslberger'Stop Codex' - Rath Protests Plans For Supplements
The Nutrition Committee of Codex Alimentarius, an international standard-setting body of the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization, is deliberating harmonized world-wide guidelines for vitamin and mineral supplements in Bonn, Germany this week, starting Monday, 1 November. The proposal goes back ten years and was introduced by the German delegation to the committee. At the time the text seemed extremely restrictive, prompting me to comment in a rather critical way. Since... [read more]
November 02, 2004 - Sepp HasslbergerCodex: Labelling Committee Asked to Allow Information on Food Preventive Effects
The Codex Alimentarius Committee on Food Labelling in its recent meeting in Montreal, Canada, heard a proposal of the Republic of South Africa, to re-think its rules which prohibit food manufacturers saying or implying that a food may aid in the prevention or cure of a disease. Although various foods clearly do prevent and even cure diseases, any claims for such effects are strictly limited to pharmaceutical products registered as... [read more]
May 25, 2004 - Sepp HasslbergerCodex: WHO/FAO Told Nutrient Risk Assessment Must Consider Benefits
In a submission to the FAO/WHO nutrient risk assessment project, Dr. Robert Verkerk, Director of the Alliance for Natural Health charges that assessment of the possible risks of nutrient overdose must also consider the beneficial effects of nutrients. He says that risk assessments undertaken to date "are not based on a sufficiently rational scientific platform" and "will provide misleading information for policy decision-makers". At stake is the continued availability of... [read more]
December 16, 2004 - Sepp Hasslberger
