The Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) decided the guidelines on vitamin and mineral supplements could be taken to their final stages (step 8) after resolving the controversial question of how maximum levels of vitamins and minerals (section 3.2.2) should be agreed.
The guidelines propose that maximum amounts of vitamins and minerals will henceforth be established by scientific risk assessment, rather than based on recommended daily amounts (RDAs), as determined by a minority of countries in Europe and a significant number in other regions.
If all goes well, the agreed text should be ratified at Codex's next meeting in July 2005.
This result was broadly welcomed by industry bodies who have been waiting a long time for the guidelines, as John Hathcock, vice president of scientific and international affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition, told NutraIngredientsUSA.com.
This sentiment was echoed by other organisations including the International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations(IADSA) and the European Responsible Nutrition Alliance (ERNA).
Hathcock said he was generally happy with the final text and noted that ultimately the guidelines will only affect countries with strict supplement regulations. Many countries in South America and South-East Asia, for example, still require that the vitamins or minerals contained in a supplement should not exceed 100 percent of the recommended daily intake determined by the FAO.
"We are sure Codex will go through in July and will be similar to US law," said Hathcock. "The guidelines are not perfect, but this is an excellent document that has been a long-time in coming."
He dismissed concerns by some US organisations, like the International Advocates for Health Freedom, which have demanded the supression of the Codex legislation on the grounds that it will restrict the availability and choice of supplements.
The suggestion back in July that maximum levels of nutrients should be based on safety rather than the RDA was heralded by Simon Pettman, executive director of IADSA, as "probably the single biggest decision to take place in the dietary supplements industry".
"Its impact is on the same level as DSHEA in 1994 (US regulation) and the EU Food Supplements Directive of 2002," he said last year.
Codex Alimentarius, set up by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization, establishes standards for regulation for the 170 member countries, as well as the World Trade Organization. It can therefore be influential, particularly in areas without current standards in place and for new members to WTO, such as China.