REPORT OF THE EXPERT GROUP ON VITAMINS AND MINERALS

That this House notes the publication by the Food Standards Agency of the Report of the Expert Group on Vitamins and minerals; supports the principles established by the Group that the safety of nutrients should be considered on a case by case basis and that all relevant scientific evidence should be taken into account in assessing their safety; regrets that in relation to a number of nutrients the Report interprets the existing data in an inappropriate or overly-cautious manner which, if adopted as the basis for regulatory action, would lead to the banning of some nutrients, including chromium picolinate and vanadium, and the imposition of unnecessarily low maximum permitted levels for other nutrients including vitamin B6 and vitamin C; urges the Government and the Board of the Food Standards Agency to pause before making any decisions on the basis of this Report and to submit it instead for further comment, particularly by other reputable international scientific bodies which have reached different conclusions on nutrient safety; and further urges the Government to redouble its efforts to persuade other member states of the European Union to accept that safety should be the principle upon which regulation is based and to defend the principle that consumers should continue to have access to safe dietary supplements of their choice.