Recent newspaper article

A recent 'Which Report' which was highly critical of food supplements in the context of safe upper limits and health claims achieved media coverage earlier this week, HFMA produced a statement as follows which was sent to all media editors: Statement prepared by the Health Food Manufacturers' Association (HFMA) The vitamin and mineral supplements industry has an exceptional record of both safety and efficacy, in the UK and worldwide. Figures published by the Food Standards Agency showed that there were only 11 reported reactions to food supplements over an 11 year period, the majority of them in the lowest category of harm. Compared to other foods or medicines, food supplements have an enviable record. It is also important to note that the European Commission already takes a strong stance towards health claims. As of November 2010, the European Food Safety Authority had published 200 opinions providing scientific advice on more than 1,700 ‘general function’ health claims. These were drawn from a list of 4,637 claims submitted to EFSA by the European Commission between July 2008 and March 2010; demonstrating the high level of regulation in the industry. So the process of regulation is already well under way. Vitamins and minerals are essential for good health and wellbeing. In an ideal world, our diet would provide us with all the vitamins and minerals that our body needs for good health. But evidence from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey shows that a significant proportion of the UK population simply doesn’t achieve nutritional sufficiency through diet alone[1]. As such, daily vitamin supplements provide important nutritional insurance for millions of users looking to safeguard their nutritional intake. ENDS -- National Association of Health Stores Ltd