|
What is Codex? The Codex Alimentarius Commission is an inter-governmental body with over 170 member countries, established in 1963, within the framework of the joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations. Its primary stated purpose is “protecting the health of consumers and ensuring fair practices in the food trade.” The Commission also promotes coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental (NGOs) and non-governmental organizations (INGOs). Guidelines and standards are used as a benchmark for regional/national legislation and in World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes. Work is conducted through almost 30 committees, each dealing with specific areas of food. The outcome is a collection of standards, codes of practice, guidelines and other recommendations. Some of these texts are very general, and some are very specific. Some deal with detailed requirements related to a food or group of foods; others deal with the operation and management of production processes or the operation of government regulatory systems for food safety and consumer protection. The bottom line is: The goal of the pharmaceutically-driven CODEX-EU Food Supplements Directive is to take over the medical world. Here's what one U.S. medical doctor had to say about Europe's recently approved, continent-wide ban on consumer access to vitamin supplements: ".. modern medicine is not scientific. It is full of prejudice, illogic and susceptible to advertising. Doctors are not taught to reason. They are programmed to believe in whatever their medical schools teach them and the leading doctors tell them. And over the past 20 years the drug companies with their enormous wealth have taken medicine over and now control its research, what is taught and the information released to the public. ... If the European Union has its way, all consumer access to nutrients throughout Europe will be prohibited, while the massive drug companies will still be permitted to experiment all they like with their dangerous potions." - Abram Hoffer, M.D. 1 Is Codex a real or imagined threat to our ability to access high quality therapeutic dietary supplements in the United States? The U.S. has enjoyed liberal access to natural health products since the passage of the Dietary Supplements and Health Education Act (DSHEA) in 1994. If Codex standards are adopted, the recommended daily allowances will be far below current therapeutic levels. Higher levels would be considered “drugs” and would be available only by prescription. However, before making supplements available to the public, manufacturers would have to invest the money to take nutrients through the drug approval process, which can cost as much as many hundreds of millions of dollars. This is a hard sell to a manufacturer that cannot patent natural ingredients to recoup the enormous expense involved in the drug approval process. As a result, it is possible that some dietary supplements simply won’t be available, and the ones that are still available will be more expensive. When will Codex be implemented? Codex is seen by some as a way to export European regulatory approaches internationally. Codex guidelines on dietary supplements will begin to be implemented in 2012 or 2013, while the first ‘harmonized’ European laws affecting supplements came into law in 2005 and are being phased in over a period of more than 6 years. What influence can the consumer have on the Codex process? Although much of the Codex agenda has already been decided, many items are still in the review process. You can access the official Codex Web site at www.codexalimentarius.net and review forthcoming meetings to get a sense for issues remaining to be discussed. In addition, circular letters (requests for comments on Codex proposals and texts) are available at various points within the Codex process. Any member or observer can send a written response to a circular letter and expect to have those comments noted and considered at the next step or presented to the next committee meeting. Unfortunately participation is not open to the general public. You can make your voice heard however. Get your Congressperson's and Senators' addresses, and write to them today. Their addresses are easy to find at the website of Congress. You can send an email letter to them directly from their site, but a plain-old, hand-written letter ALWAYS has more impact! When you write, be sure to ask for a response. And please share those responses with us and members of our forum. One major concern is that an attempt might be made by the FDA to adopt Codex through the regulatory process. Codex may even eventually come to the U.S. as a treaty. If so, that would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate. On the other hand, treaty law supersedes other legislation, such as DSHEA, so we are monitoring the issue very closely, and recommend that those of you who value your freedom to have health supplements do the same! The fact of the matter is: Disease, not war, is the single largest killer on Earth.
Optimum nutrition strengthens bodies.
Supplements are the answer--not the problem.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION!
Related Web Links
International Advocates for Health Freedom Alliance for Natural Health Free Video about CODEX Endnotes: 1. http://www.doctoryourself.com
|
