EU: The EU Commission's efforts to ban a range of herbal medicines and traditional health-food mineral supplements have been referred to the European Court in Luxembourg.
The referral was ordered yesterday by the High Court in London. The decision marked a victory for the health-food industry and consumers who said they were "outraged" by the ban, contained in the controversial EU Food Supplements Directive.
Mr Justice Richards, sitting in London, had been asked to refer the directive to the European Court on the grounds that it was unlawful and would unfairly affect millions of people, threatening both health and trade.
Agreeing to the request despite British government opposition, the judge ruled there was an arguable case and the reference was plainly appropriate and should be made as soon as possible".
Critics of the directive say it infringes several fundamental principles of European law, including the right to property and to carry on an economic activity. The European Court alone has the power to quash an EU directive.
The judge's ruling was welcomed by a packed court. The hearing had been attended by actresses Jenny Seagrove, Belinda Lang and Tracey Childs, accompanied by Gordon Newman, who writes and produces the BBC drama Judge John Deed.
Ms Seagrove said: "I am here today because I believe that each and every one of us should have the right to choose what supplements we take, and have been taking very happily and healthily for many years."
Directive 2002/46/EC, which is to be enforced on August 1st, 2005, is designed to harmonise the market across all EU member-states. But opponents say it will result in many of the currently available forms of essential minerals, including calcium, magnesium, zinc and selenium, being removed from sale.
They fear later parts of the legislation may also see drastic restrictions on the potency of vitamins and minerals, thereby removing a further swathe of products that have been used safely for many years.
Manufacturers argue that it will not be economically viable to carry out the necessary screening to get many of the supplements added to the approved list under the directive, and that the rules will have a disproportionate effect. - (PA)