CONSTITUENTS often ask me about the latest health fad, so a news item on the subject in this magazine (10 April, p 6) encouraged me to quiz health ministers on government guidelines on dietary supplements.
According to public health minister Melanie Johnson, in the UK at present most herbal medicines are unlicensed and subject to few specific safety or quality requirements. However, in 2002 the European Union adopted a directive on food supplements setting up lists of permitted vitamins and minerals and their chemical sources that can be used in food supplements. The EU’s scientific committee on food assessed the…
