Are Our Supplements in Danger?

by Nate Horwitz

It depends on who you ask. And it’s all because of something called Codex Alimentarius.

What is Codex Alimentarius? The Food and Agriculture and the World Health Organizations of the United Nations jointly created the Codex Alimentarius (literally “food law” or “food code” in Latin) Commission in 1963 ostensibly to protect the health of consumers, to ensure fair trade practices in the food trade and to promote the coordination of all food standards. Without going into too much detail (you can read the whole thing yourself at www.codexalimentarius.net/web/index_en.jsp). Codex is a set of guidelines about supplements — minimum and maximum recommended daily amounts, and so on. They were originally intended as guidelines, and were not viewed by anyone as legally binding.

World Trade Organization gets involved

The World Trade Organization (WTO) was created in 1995 as part of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). At the heart of the WTO are its trade agreements, which are negotiated by the member nations. These agreements are essentially contracts. The WTO has been empowered to fine countries that are seen to be in violation of these agreements.

The WTO has adopted the Codex Alimentarius standards as its preferred international measures for facilitating trade in food.

In the United States, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA — usually pronounced “di- SHAY”), which was passed by Congress in 1994, is the law governing supplements. It is a much less restrictive document than Codex. If the U.S. were seen by the WTO to be in violation of an agreement because of DSHEA, Congress would then have to decide whether to change U.S. law or to accept WTO-imposed penalties.

How realistic is this threat?

Once again, it depends on who you ask. In a recent interview Karl Riedel, president of a division of Neutraceutical, a supplement company, downplayed the threat posed by Codex. On the other hand Bill Sardi, a health journalist, is very worried, and considers Codex to be nothing but junk science.

Here at Honest Weight, we don’t mean to create unnecessary panic, but we do feel that it’s important that our members and shoppers at least become aware of this issue. For that reason, on Wednesday, September 21 at 7 pm, we will be showing the documentary “We Remain Silent,” which is narrated by Judi Dench and details the potential threat to our supplements. A discussion following the viewing will be led by Dick Kavanaugh, who works in the Coop’s Health and Body Aids department. We expect this evening to be well attended and encourage those who are interested to reserve seats in advance by calling 482-3312, ext.104. We will be having additional viewings of the documentary as needed to satisfy demand.

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