BOTANICALS eee ene cee ee ea eae oe oe eg eo ae ocr eee ee ear? SRT a eee eee tS oe eae eee Omer of liquids, etc, and can be bought over Pe ae Cat oars ene ese ce Rte cleCorer cs Be cee Reirenamyeae) percents Ci Just tke any other foods (and pro vided ths ls supported by scentiic evidence), botanical» supplements an make all kinds of health claims Sena gene ‘optimising normal phystlegea une tions but they must not, it their l= Deling or advertising, refer to the prevention, treatment o cre oF di This isnot always propery enforced ‘Specialy on products forsale over the internet and predtucts can stl De found that indirectly suggest they may help against severe diseases Sich as cancer or Azheime’s, ‘The vast majority of botanical supplements “only” promise heathy nal, hal joints, etc, but fs vital to guarantee that consumers an'tust daims they see on these products and tha they d0 not Spend their maney on products bearing fase promises. ‘Therefore, botanical claims = just tke any other claims made on normal” foods - should undergo a rigorous scleniifc assessment ofthe highest possible standard (Over 1500 botanical claims are stil on hold pending evaluation by FSA. This folows the pubiaton, back in 2010, of a series of EFSA opinions assessing the evidence on 44 botaleal dais, lihich Were all negative (2 EFSA conclided the cloims were nat proven). Some have argued that EFSA's evaluation was too strict and have Called for a special treatment alowing substantiating botanical ‘aime by refering to the “traction of use" imstead oF eubmiting ‘more robust data fom cna studies)G) S) m m Pa 4 ul Bes HORSETAIL Deez ree arvense) promoted normal bodyPINE SHOOT SYRUP oe eS a) mee ne) CARROT JUICE ee Cm Ts ere Oe ae JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE Re ue ocd COT rem aaa ep et ius eis COLTSFOOT JUICE Crs mcd (Tussilago farfara L.)FRAXINUS Fraxinus (Fraxinus ex- GUAR GUM US tetragonoloba DRIED COCOA IT EXTRACT Pe es oes Cee eee cao L.) said tc Ese Nis =¥) AJWAIN Cog roo Cru ee cee ert i eyHORSERADISH erie) ere NTE hae Oa a ea Why there should be no special treatment for botanical claimsNatural does not mean it is safe! DTo aR Yi ROOT EXTRACT Dong Quai Root Extract (Angelica sinensis) corer) St JOHN’S WORT Ces Cre ceeee as Cie me ace ree ect ere ean praca Rona Ss aerate res Tn Belgium, Re oe rer Mice See hoes omer Eee Pee geraret re ce mation is ms ConesHarmonisation of the EU market for herbal products is needed to better protect for consumers References Dreatve (€) No 2002/46 on fod supleens. + Dreaive (EE) ho 2004/24 amending Dresive (€) o'er a he Commun cae ang oe Rept (6) No 524206 0 rattan + Testichate, Phytetdrapa Nowalas ree pour Prosuts pass In" Tet Son 95. (Oacbe) Reba estas (Ocobeovenber 005) BEUCBUREAU EUROPEEN DES UNIONS DE CONSOMMATEURS AISBL | DER EUROPAISCHE VERBRAUCHERVERBAND Rue d ‘Arion 80, B-1040 Brussels Tel, +32(0)2 74315 90 - Fax +32 (0)2 74028 02- consumers@beuc.eu + wiww.beuc.eu EC register for interest representatives: identification number 9S0S5781573-45