Supplement Trade Interests Need U.S. Voice At Codex Mtgs. -Rep. Pallone
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
A government trade expert familiar with dietary supplement issues should work with the U.S. Codex delegation to help ensure the principles of the Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act are upheld in Codex initiatives, House Government Reform Committee members suggested at a hearing March 20.
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A government trade expert familiar with dietary supplement issues should work with the U.S. Codex delegation to help ensure the principles of the Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act are upheld in Codex initiatives, House Government Reform Committee members suggested at a hearing March 20. "I believe that we ought to clearly state the position that indicates that we will not sacrifice our sovereignty," Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) commented at the dietary supplements hearing held by committee Chairman Dan Burton (R-Ind.). "Where there are challenges on trade matters concerning dietary supplements, I urge that in a bipartisan manner we call upon the Administration to send experts from the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to assist the current U.S. Codex delegation," Pallone continued. Pallone and Burton are expected to submit a letter to the U.S. Codex Office the week of March 26 requesting a trade representative be added to the delegation. The international Codex Alimentarius is composed of 165 countries attempting to harmonize food and agriculture standards across the world in an effort to simplify trade. The U.S. delegation, comprising 26 voting members, incorporates government specialists in a range of areas, mostly from FDA and the Department of Agriculture. Most supplement issues are handled by the Codex Committee on Nutrition & Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU). CCNFSDU's U.S. delegate, Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition Lead Scientist Elizabeth Yetley, PhD, is able to select and consult outside advisors on details of the committee's work. The advisors may come from government agencies, industry, academia and legal outlets, according to the U.S. Codex Office. Yetley's CCNFSDU group at the June 2000 meeting included four government advisors, such as House Reform Committee staffer Elizabeth Clay, and several industry/trade reps, including Council for Responsible Nutrition President & CEO John Cordaro and Nature's Life CEO Karl Riedel. Burton, a long-time proponent of the supplement industry, maintained that "many Americans are afraid" of restrictions that could be placed on supplement availability due to trade agreements. "I suggest that the U.S. delegation to Codex include representatives from the U.S. government who are experts in international trade negotiations and that FDA staff and all individuals representing the [U.S.] in negotiations regarding dietary supplements negotiate from the DSHEA perspective," he added. Reform Committee Ranking Minority Member Henry Waxman (Calif.), who has been critical of the supplement industry, agreed that U.S. law should be protected in international harmonization discussions. "I don't want to see, because of international trade agreements, our laws being reduced or being eliminated or superseded," Waxman commented, adding he would not support an "international trade standard which may not be what the American people would like to have" in place of DSHEA. In testimony during the hearing, Codex delegation member Riedel assured the committee members that if "restrictive Codex standards" for supplements are approved, U.S. consumers' access to supplements would not be infringed. However, he said concerns "that U.S. dietary supplement suppliers will be severely hampered in their ability to export and sell supplements in other countries" are "not only real but likely." One solution to such barriers is "much more aggressive advocacy of DSHEA by U.S. delegates in all the Codex committees, specifically [the Food Labeling and NFSDU committees], to ensure that Codex standards adequately provide for consumer health freedoms," Riedel advised. He also joined the congressional chorus calling for a trade expert representative. At the last CCNFSDU meeting in Berlin in June, delegates discussed the issue of upper limits for vitamin and mineral supplement intake (1 (Also see "Codex" - Pink Sheet, 8 Jan, 2001.)). The next meeting takes place in Berlin Nov. 26-30; advisors to the U.S. delegation have yet to be finalized, the U.S. Codex Office said. Supplement-related issues also could come before the Codex Committee for Food Labeling which meets in Toronto in May (2 (Also see "U.S. Codex Likely To Advocate Voluntary Quantitative Food Labeling" - Pink Sheet, 26 Mar, 2001.)). |