Vitamin threat exaggerated, claims South West Euro-MP

6.09.18pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 1st Feb 2005

A leading critic of a new EU law that may make it impossible for South West shoppers to buy a wide range of vitamin tablets says that opposition campaigners are exaggerating the concerns.

The new EU law, passed in 2002 and now being introduced in Britain, means that from August vitamin tablets must contain no more than the recommended daily allowance. Manufacturers wanting to sell products of greater strength must submit evidence proving that their ingredients are safe.

South West MEP Graham Watson described it as "a sledgehammer to crack a nut" when the EU Food Supplements Directive was considered by the European Parliament three years ago. But he says now that claims that 75% of vitamins will disappear from the shelves as a result are way over the top.

Mr Watson says that the law is overprescriptive and argues that better labelling to give consumers more information should have been sufficient to address health concerns, but he is calling for more balance to be brought to the debate.

He said:

"The largest retailer of vitamin supplements is Boots, and they say that shoppers should see no real difference. People are free to take more than one pill if they so wish.

"The EU law is not intended to ban products but simply to make sure that they are safe. The costs of the testing process are in my view being wildly exaggerated by some of the opponents."

Taking large quantities of supplements, many times above the recommended daily allowance is becoming popular with an increasingly health conscious population. High dose vitamin C tablets, often over 15 times more than recommended, may be taken to aid recovery from cold and flu symptoms.

But some medical experts argue that excessive quantities of some of these products may be detrimental to health. Critics claim that excessive quantities of Vitamin C can cause side effects like diarrhoea, nausea and stomach pain.

The proposal had the full support of the British Government when it was considered by MEPs and Ministers in Brussels.