Speaking at a Brussels workshop organised by the European Federation of Associations of Health Product Manufacturers (EHPM), Hans Ingels, from the EC's DG Enterprise, said a Mutual Recognition Regulation would ensure mutual recognition principle by member states. "It would also ease the burden of manufacturers of food supplements and other health products," EHPM said in a statement. Mutual Recognition recognises regulatory harmony has not been achieved across the 27-member state bloc but that single member state approval shall carry weight in other states. However this ideal met with pragmatic hurdles. "As harmonisation is not complete in the area of food supplements, significant trade barriers still exist at national level linked to levels, ingredients, and labeling and claims," said EHPM chairman, Peter van Doorn. "The Commission's proposal for a new regulation on mutual recognition will go a long way towards ensuring the free movement of goods across the EU Member States. We believe that denial of mutual recognition among the member states should be the exception, rather than the norm." Lorène Courrège, EHPM Director of Regulatory Affairs, added: "France has historically been a restrictive market for the marketing of food supplements, so its incorporation of the mutual recognition principle in its food supplement legislation is momentous, as it allows for the acceptance of products legally put on the market in another member state. We wish that more member states would follow suit as it is actions like these that will move us ahead in the battle to breakdown barriers to trade." Workshop highlights included:
- barriers to trade for food supplements in the EU;
- the legal principles and practical application of the principle of mutual recognition, as well as case law that can be used to overcome national trade barriers and allow the free movement of food supplements across the 27 member states;
- practical tips from operators on overcoming trade barriers and the recent acceptance of mutual recognition by France and its impact on the market.