http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/legislation.htm en-us sepp@lastrega.com Wed, 7 May 2008 15:53:43 GMT http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2008/05/07/canada_bill_c51_threatens_natural_health_products.htm On April 8th, Canada’s Minister of Health, Tony Clement, introduced Bill C-51 into the House of Commons. If passed, that bill will drastically alter the current Food and Drugs Act, and that will be bad news for many Canadians. According to an article on the Common Ground website, "expectations are that if Federal Bill C-51 is passed, around 75 percent of new applications will most likely fail to meet new requirements." Canada has traditionally been liberal, favoring availability of nutrient-containing products to people wishing to use vitamins and minerals for their preventive or even curative health needs. But some time in the 90s, a world wide campaign was started to curtail the use of nutritional supplements in... Legislation Sepp Hasslberger Wed, 7 May 2008 15:53:43 GMT http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2008/04/03/eu_scientific_committee_mercury_in_dental_fillings_no_danger.htm On 15 January, Reuters reported about a European scientific Committee report stating that Amalgams pose no health risk to the human nervous system. Mercury vapor escaping from extracted tooth subjected to heat (from this video) The report was prepared by the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) which is made up of external experts. According to Ulla Danielsen, a Danish journalist, the committee consists of seven members, four of which are dentists and have declared to have connections with the dental industry. The report is available in PDF format from the EU Committe's website. SCENIHR recognises that dental amalgam is an effective restorative material and, from the perspectives of longevity, the mechanical performance... Health Sepp Hasslberger Thu, 3 Apr 2008 18:45:54 GMT http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2008/02/25/will_europe_restrict_herbs_vegetable_extracts.htm The European Union does not believe in its citizens' ability to choose nutrients wisely. This very paternalistic view finds expression in a series of restrictive laws that aim at regulating what can be sold as a healthy food to supplement our daily menu with vitamins, minerals, herbs or vegetable concentrates. The European Food Supplements Directive, which was approved in 2002, provides a "framework" for regulating the nutrients we may add to our meals. The details on coming restrictions for vitamins and minerals that the directive envisions have been delayed for years. Neither the lists of "nutrient sources" nor the dosages to be allowed in pills and capsules have been agreed, six years after the directive was first... Legislation Sepp Hasslberger Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:59:41 GMT http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2007/11/19/codex_alimentarius_moves_closer_to_european_blueprint_on_supplements.htm Last week, the Committee for Nutrition and Dietary Foods of Codex Alimentarius, an international food standard setting body, met in Germany, discussing matters ranging from nutrients to baby foods, from sustainable health care to the promotion of healthy foods. The National Health Federation (NHF), an international non governmental organization representing consumers and practitioners in the natural health area, was there to keep tabs and intervene in defense of health freedom. Codex Nutrition Committee meeting November 2007 - Image: Scott Tips elaborated by Sepp. The three NHF delegates could speak, but only national health authorities really have a say, and only when it pleases the chairman of the meeting, Dr Rolf Grossklaus, who is also the head of... Legislation Sepp Hasslberger Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:02:56 GMT http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2007/10/31/eu_commissioner_kyprianou_shrugs_off_consumer_concerns_over_nutrients.htm The European Union is currently deliberating how to limit dosages of vitamins and minerals in commerce. The move is mandated by the European food supplements directive, which came into force in 2004. The directive regulates the commerce of nutrient-dense food supplements but full implementation is still years away, expected to take hold by 2010. Temporary permission for hundreds of specific forms of vitamins and minerals used in supplements for decades, for which 'dossiers' were required to be submitted, will run out in December 2009. The deliberations on dosage limits are expected to come to a conclusion that same year. Apparently Kyprianou's office has received a huge number of letters from concerned consumers writing from all over Europe,... Health Sepp Hasslberger Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:36:56 GMT http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2007/10/24/proposed_european_nutrient_safety_levels_not_fit_for_purpose.htm The Alliance for Natural Health, a group campaigning for sustainable health care in Europe, states in a newly released paper, that the European Commission's proposed model for limiting the amounts of nutrients allowed to be sold in food supplements is seriously flawed. Dr Robert Verkerk, the scientific director of the Alliance says: “The Commission claims that its methods are scientific but we have found that they do not stand up to scientific scrutiny”. Billed as an effort to protect consumer health, the limitations under consideration are set to seriously restrict options for active prevention of ill health through nutrition. The European directive on food supplements mandates that a decision be made which of the vitamins and... Health Sepp Hasslberger Wed, 24 Oct 2007 19:22:57 GMT http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2007/10/15/codex_alimentarius_will_eu_laws_become_world_standard.htm In a recent article, The Economist discusses How the European Union is becoming the world's chief regulator. The article says the EU regulatory framework is in the process of becoming "world standard". The Economist quotes an unnamed US official: One American official says flatly that the EU is “winning” the regulatory race, adding: “And there is a sense that that is their precise intent.” He cites a speech by the trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, claiming that the export of “our rules and standards around the world” was one source of European power. Noting that EU regulations are often written with the help of European incumbents, the official also claims that precaution can cloak “plain old-fashioned protectionism in... Health Sepp Hasslberger Mon, 15 Oct 2007 17:33:51 GMT http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2007/10/08/should_we_discard_herbal_medicine_unless_provided_by_pharma.htm An examination of three randomized trials involving individualized herbal remedies was sufficient for two researchers to suggest that herbal medicine should be discarded. Not those herbal extracts that are provided by pharmaceutical companies, to be sure, but those mixtures of individual herbs prepared by practitioners following Chinese, Indian or other herbal traditions. The study was reported in the UK press and is drawing many comments from readers, largely in favor of herbal and medical diversity. The Daily Mail got its headline slightly wrong when saying Herb cures that 'do you more harm than good', after all, what was examined was not the safety of herbal remedies but their efficacy. The sideswipe on the safety of herbs seems... Health Sepp Hasslberger Mon, 8 Oct 2007 16:22:13 GMT http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2007/07/04/codex_alimentarius_corporations_forge_global_food_rules.htm Rome - 4th of July 2007. Americans are celebrating this day as a special holiday signifying freedom and independence. But it is a work-day here in Rome at FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization's headquarters, where the Codex Commission is having its week-long yearly general meeting. Freedom and independence are not really high on the agenda at Codex - rather the contrary, as more and more rules are passed that curb individual choice but allow corporations to do what they do best - dominate markets. Codex Alimentarius, the food rule-making body of the United Nations has invited delegates from all countries to the thirtieth session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Roman headquarters of FAO is within... Health Sepp Hasslberger Wed, 4 Jul 2007 17:12:44 GMT http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2007/06/14/fda_and_pharmas_death_toll_reform_or_business_as_usual.htm The FDA has been in the line of fire for serious violations of its mission. The charge: Standing up for pharmaceutical profits rather than the health of those people who are using medicines. Under the FDA's rule, pharmaceutical companies have become the most profitable industry on planet earth, but our health is not getting any better - rather the reverse. Every year, national budgets are straining to meet increasing costs of healthcare, much of which goes to expensive but evidently quite useless pharmaceuticals. The companies that produce patentable medicines have the FDA in their pockets. They control the agency that is supposed to oversee their operations. The tool: user fees, which pay much of the FDA's budget,... Legislation Sepp Hasslberger Thu, 14 Jun 2007 12:52:48 GMT