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Think global. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international body to resolve trade disputes between countries. For a yardstick to measure against the WTO uses industry regulations established by other organizations.
For food products the WTO uses standards that have been, and continue to be, established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). Once a Codex standard is developed and approved by the CAC, WTO member nations must conform. If a trade dispute comes before the WTO, economic trade sanctions can be used to enforce compliance. The CAC assigns development of new standards to specific Codex committees. For many years one of the assignments of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) has been to create "Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements." These Guidelines are to dictate which nutrients are deemed safe, the maximum and minimum amounts allowed in a product, and related packaging and labeling requirements. While the majority of these Guidelines have been structured, a number of important issues remain to be addressed at the next annual CCNFSDU session (November 2004 in Bonn, Germany). The current direction in which the document "Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements" is headed is much more restrictive then the corresponding rules and regulations in the United States. If finalized and enforced, these Guidelines could take away the American public's access to vitamin and mineral supplements.
If you wish more in-depth information, this site has been developed to: AHHA encourages you to use this information to do your own research, decide which position you wish to support, and take action! |
 Click Here for details of how the American Holistic Health Association is working to support positive outcomes for the development of the "Codex Proposed Draft Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements" by the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU).
This page was last updated August 2004.
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