  Health Alert - What You Should Know About Vitamins & Supplements
The vitamin and supplement industry may change in Europe this summer. Over 300 bio-available nutrients present in over 5,000 safe vitamin and mineral products may be banned from the market due to legislation passed in Europe by EU member governments in June 2002. This legislation is known as "The EU Food Supplements Directive (FSD)".
The list of banned items includes natural vitamin forms such as mixed tocopherols (natural vitamin E), carotenoids and methylcobalamin, all forms of sulphur, boron, vanadium, silicon and most trace elements; as well as the most readily absorbed and safest forms of calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, chromium and molybdenum.
This legislation will severely limit the doses of vitamins and other nutrients allowed in products, eliminating all high-dose products from the market. It will include future restrictions on nutrient forms other than vitamins and minerals such as fatty acids, amino acids, enzymes, probiotics, and phytonutrients. These restrictions may dramatically limit future innovation in the dietary supplement industry, creating a serious impact on retail outlets, complementary practitioners and consumers who include vitamins and supplements in their health regimens.
Should this EU law concern US citizens? Well, there’s a strong possibility that if this this initiative passes in the EU, the US may follow.
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