Industry News & Our Position

Standard Process' Position Regarding the Codex Alimentarius Commission

March 15, 2005 - Standard Process has received a number of inquiries regarding the actions of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU), part of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which met last November in Germany to discuss guidelines for vitamin and mineral food supplements. This committee is responsible for studying nutritional issues referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission; drafting provisions, as appropriate, on the nutritional aspects of all foods; and developing standards, guidelines, or related texts for foods for special dietary uses.

Standard Process monitors these activities through many sources, including our FDA attorney, our political consultant in Washington, the FDA website, and the reports of the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA) observer and Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) observers to the Codex meetings. We have also reviewed the commentaries of other organizations, including the National Health Federation and the American Holistic Health Association. We agree with all concerned that the health freedoms that we enjoy here in the United States and our Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) need to be defended and preserved.

Standard Process believes there is no reason for concern that the imminent adoption of the Committee's recommendations by the full Codex Alimentarius Commission will have any impact on the availability of dietary supplements here in the United States. Indeed, the Committee's recommendations will enable the sale of vitamins and minerals overseas at levels above the Recommended Daily Allowances, the highest levels allowed in some countries. This will provide consumers overseas with more product choices. Furthermore, in a recent published report, the FDA stated that "US consumers access to a broad array of dietary supplements under DSHEA would not be changed in any way by Codex's adoption of guidelines on vitamin and mineral food supplements." Visit http://www.cfsan.fda. gov/~dms/dscodex.html to find out more on the FDA's position on Codex. You can also read more about Codex in the American Herbal Products Association's July statement.