Health Stores Ireland has relaunched the “Save Our Supplements” campaign, a national industry initiative aimed at maintaining consumer access to high-strength vitamin and mineral supplements.
The campaign is being led by subcommittee members Hannah Dare (Organico), Finn Murray (The Hopsack) and Matt Ronan (Evolv), who are coordinating the retail sector and consumer response to ongoing Europe Commission efforts to harmonise maximum permitted levels (MPLs) for food supplement nutrients.
The campaign highlights concerns that the currently proposed MPLs could result in significant potency reductions across a range of widely used nutrients, including Vitamin D, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C and Magnesium. Industry representatives contend that the precautionary risk model underpinning the EU’s approach was developed in the context of hazardous chemical regulation and is not appropriate when applied to nutrients with established safety profiles at currently available potencies.
Finn Murray said: “Ireland’s position within this debate carries particular weight. The country’s well-documented Vitamin D deficiency burden, attributable to latitude and climate, illustrates the limitations of a harmonised EU-wide approach that does not account for population-specific nutritional needs.”
Health Stores Ireland and its counterparts argue that the proposed restrictions are not grounded in evidence of harm from products currently on the market but reflect an overly cautious regulatory framework that fails to distinguish between risk and benefit.
It argues that the practical consequences for the Irish market would be considerable. Products that have underpinned preventative health practice in independent health stores, pharmacies and nutritional therapy practices for decades, it says, could face reformulation or withdrawal in their current formats.
Alongside its colleagues in the Irish Health Trade Association, Health Stores Ireland is calling on industry stakeholders and consumers to engage with their public representatives, including MEPs, TDs and Senators, ahead of further legislative progress on the proposals.
Hannah Dare is urging both trade and consumer audiences to add their support and ensure that the scale of concern is clearly communicated to decision-makers at national and EU level
The campaign’s national petition is available at saveoursupplements.ie.
