Press Release for June 23, 2005

Emergency Congressional Oversight Urged to Prevent Illegal Action by US CODEX Delegation Next Month

Download this press release as an Adobe PDF document.
http://pdfserver.prweb.com/pdfdownload/250895/pr.pdf

Congress has been notified by the Natural Solutions Foundation that US CODEX policy, announced at a Public Hearing by the US CODEX Manager, conflicts with U.S. law. Two laws, the unanimously passed 1994 Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act (DSHEA) and the 1997 FDA Modernization Act (FDAMA) protect supplements from harmonization with international standards. US CODEX policy supports the restrictive Vitamin and Mineral Guideline (VMG) set for ratification with illegal U.S. assistance in Rome next month in direct violation of explicit US legal prohibitions. Congressional oversight is being urged to prevent illegal policy action by the US CODEX Delegation on behalf of this country.

(PRWEB) June 23, 2005 -- All members of Congress were notified by the Natural Solutions Foundation that the US CODEX policy, announced at the US CODEX Office Public Hearing on June 9, 2005 conflicts with two US laws which classify supplements as food (with no upper limits) and exclude them from harmonization with international standards. Because it is illegal, the US CODEX policy to support the VMG should be reversed immediately through Congressional oversight.

Three U.S. Congressmen, Reps. Paul, DeFazio and Burton, have already signed a Congressional Letter to Dr. Edward Scarbrough, the US CODEX Manager, urging him to bring US CODEX policy into alignment with US law, http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb250895.php   

On June 1, 2005 a Citizen's Petition, http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/petition/petition.pdf , a legal document designed to compel the US to follow its own laws, was submitted to the US CODEX Manager notifying him that support of the restrictive VMG violated Title 19, USC 3512 which prohibits the US from harmonizing with international standards which violate US law. Although presented as an Emergency Petition because of the forthcoming ratification of the VMG at the July 4-9 meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the US CODEX Office has not yet responded.

Interestingly, US CODEX policy in support of the VMG was announced over two weeks before the supposed completion of the US's policy decision-making process which Dr. Scarbrough believes will not be completed until next week. None the less, written and oral representations of the US's illegal intent to support the VMG were made by the US CODEX Office as early as two weeks ago at the public hearing. At that meeting, Dr. Scarbrough noted that public input had only a "theoretical possibility" of impacting US CODEX policy. However, Congressional oversight to ensure that Executive Branch Agencies, such as the US CODEX Office, support Public Policy as determined by Congress is expected to cause the CODEX Delegation to rethink its position.