Update on Food Modernization Act and Codex (regulating supplements)

[no_hypocrisy]

http://www.anh-usa.org/anh-usa-victory-supplements-are-exempted-from-codex-language-in-food-safety-bill/

The FDA Food Modernization Act (S. 510), also referred to as the “Food Safety” bill, has been modified to exempt dietary supplements from language that otherwise creates a slippery slope toward U.S. harmonization with Codex Alimentarius. ANH-USA worked to protect the natural health community from this dangerous provision that threatened access to high quality, therapeutic supplement doses by working with key senators to modify the language, now for the second time.

The most worrisome provision of the bill initially required the Food and Drug Agency (FDA) to recommend that U.S. foreign Herbal supplementstrading partners harmonize with Codex. This odd language was no doubt very intentional. How could we recommend harmonization to other countries if we rejected it for the U.S.? So in effect we were committing ourselves to a much more restrictive regulatory regime for supplements.

As the Senate moved forward with the Food Safety bill, Senator Harkin (D-IA), committee chair, working closely with Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), promised to see what could be done to make absolutely clear this legislation was not intended to impact our access to dietary supplements. At that time, Senator Harkin modified the Codex provision, asking the FDA to consider “whether and how” to recommend U.S. foreign trading partners harmonize. This was a very important change and a tremendous show of support from both Senators, but we were still concerned that the inclusion of Codex language in the bill could be used to support future U.S. harmonization with Codex standards on dietary supplements.

ANH-USA worked with our allies in the Senate over the past several months to include additional language providing stronger protection for supplements. New language has now been added specifically stating, “Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the regulation of dietary supplements.”

-more-

FDA Food Modernization Act (S. 510) does NOT have an amendment concerning restricting and regulating supplements.

I just found the text and the Bill deals mostly with food purity and does not have any text or amendments.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c111:2:./temp/~c111KD1jTG::


I thank the DU-er who posted and made me do more research. I apologize for not doing better research for my first post about S-510 and Codex. I hope this settles any doubts but I welcome anyone with more information.

[Angry Dragon]

1. From what I have read it would also give the government

control on what seeds individuals could save, what you could grow in your garden,
and promote GM foods..........

[HuckleB]

2. Can you point us to the parts of the actual legislation that do these things?

:shrug:

[Angry Dragon]

3. My emotions may have gotten ahead of my logic

However, I did read these things in articles

[trotsky]

5. And as everyone knows...

if you read something on the Internet, it *MUST* be true.

[astral]

8. That would be a different bill: S510

FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

Codex Alimentarius was a different thing. Well, wait a minute. . . . They may have merged now : (

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:s510
Well, anyway, from here I got this pdf:

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s510es.txt.pdf
I have only skimmed parts so far, Get pages 4-5 which pretty much state, EXCLUDING restaurants and farms (!!!??), any person who has any kind of food that the "secretary" thinks might make anyone sick, is under the gun. This would include people who grow produce in their yard and maybe try to sell some at the farmers market.

There is an interesting clause at the end of the bill (yep, I like to know how a book finishes before I try to read through it)

"""" Sec 404. COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.
Nothing in this Act (or an amendment made by this Act) shall be construed in a manner inconsistent with the agreement establishing the World Trade Organization or any other treaty or international agreement to which the United States is a party. """"""

[laughingliberal]

4. Thanks. Very helpful! nt

[evirus]

6. wait so no changes in the lack of regulation for supplements?

that industry is booming due to the utter lack of requirements to demonstrate the claims they make, their riding the waves of loose regulations and public misconceptions.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

7. This line is almost laughable

"ANH-USA worked to protect the natural health community from this dangerous provision that threatened access to high quality, therapeutic supplement doses..."

How do we KNOW that they are "high quality"? Without any regulation, we're essentially taking their word for out. How do we KNOW they the products are "therapeutic"? These businesses are not required to prove efficacy, and again we have to take the nutraceutical company's word for it that it works as intended.

The statement practically drips with irony. What a fucking joke...