At its 43rd Annual Meeting in Warsaw from 4 - 6 June 2007 the Association of the European Self-Medication Industry (AESGP) launched a major new study on the "Regulatory Framework for Food Supplements in Europe" covering the 27 European Union Member States and Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Croatia.
The study describes the legal requirements, regulatory practices and national particularities in the countries covered. The Annexes compare the maximum levels applied for vitamins and minerals as well as the classification of around 1800 herbals and 300 other substances.
The study is complemented by an interactive CD allowing downloading legal texts, guidelines and other useful information directly from the websites of national authorities as well as searching electronically in the Annexes.
High level representatives of the European Commission, European Parliament, the EFSA, the EMEA, the WHO, national authorities and industry were present when the study was presented to the around 400 participants of the conference entitled "Innovation, Growth, Better Regulation: The Changing Face of Self-Medication".
Dr Hubertus Cranz, Director-General of the Association of the European Self-Medication Industry (AESGP) commented: "We see this study as an important step towards the harmonisation of the regulatory framework for food supplements in Europe as it gives a full picture how this product group is currently regulated in Europe. One major and urgent request of our industry is the harmonisation of maximum levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements throughout the European Union as soon as possible, as it will considerably ease the bureaucratic burden on industry and will help to increase access to high quality vitamin and mineral supplements in the interest of all citizens of Europe ."
The study can be ordered at AESGP
please click here.
AESGP, Association of the European Self-Medication Industry
7, avenue de Tervuren
1040 Brussels, Belgium
http://www.aesgp.be
Publication Date: 2007-06-07 03:00
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