EU to release proposed list of banned herbs imminently!

The European Food Safety Authority has been busy, since its inception in 2002, assessing the safety of a wide range of ingredients and foods, ranging from food additives, to preservatives, but more recently nutrients and botanicals. Traditional systems of healthcare, including the great Ayurvedic and Unani traditions of India, through to Chinese, South-East Asian, African and South American systems of healthcare, have used herbal products for thousands of years. In many cases the dosage of the products used are very low.

The view of the ANH is that it is simply not possible to ban a substance without giving any indication of its dose. One of the most fundamental tenets of toxicology is that the safety, or toxicity, of a given substance is always proportional to its dosage (or exposure to it). Therefore how can we accept a blanket ban on any herb that has been used for thousands of years, when the authorities are not considering the dosage at which the herb is being used?

The EU planning to release its list of 60 banned herbs imminently. There will be a period of a a couple of years before they try to enforce the ban. Our view is that we must stand up to this – looking very closely at the herbs that are proposed for ban. It is very likely that unless the EU cave to protests over the ban, the only option will be a legal challenge.

We’ve done it before, and we’ll do it again, this time supported by the people with the most to lose: the people of India and other countries with great healthcare traditions within which the use of herbs is integral. Such a challenge may be the only way of losing ancient healing traditions to a slippery slope of oblivion. Watch this space!

To find out more about what the EU is proposing, read today’s article on Nutraingredients.com: http://www.nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?n=81882-ebf-efsa-botanicals