Back in March 2004 the European Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products (THMPD) was enacted laying down rules and regulations for the use of herbal products that had previously been freely traded. After massive lobbying by the pharmaceutical industry, the directive …
Food/health policy
Words designed to illuminate, disgust – or confuse?
Several weeks ago I was reading a food trade journal which was describing the development of new chemicals which would alter foods in order to boost the production of saliva, making things taste juicier or more refreshing, and improve the pleasurable sensation of melting fats. …
Governments Struggle to Convince
Health authorities in the west may fulminate about the public's scepticism about their pronouncements (the MMR vaccination saga, for example) but they could take comfort from the fact that the Chinese government is having an even worse time. An article in the Boston Globe last …
Joined up government – oh yeah – and hyperactivity!
Joined up government - wasn't that the mantra a couple of years ago? Well... Only this week we reported that the Food Standards Agency had updated its lists of manufacturers who did not use the artificial colours that research has shown to affect both hyperactive and even …
Food Standards Agency Reprieved – Or is it?…
Well, the axe has now fallen and the government has announced its decision over the future of the Food Standards Agency. (If you are not up to speed on the background, click here.) As axes go, it is a pretty spongy one as they propose to retain 2,000 of the current 2,100 jobs …