Originally published November 2005
On 12 July 2005 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) upheld the validity of Directive 2002/46/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to food supplements. In particular it upheld the internal market legal base and the positive list of vitamins and minerals that can be used in supplements.
BACKGROUND
In June 2002 the European Parliament and the Council adopted Directive 2002/46/EC on the approximation of the laws of Member States relating to food supplements ("the Directive"). The Directive is based on Article 95 EC which allows measures to be taken to ensure the functioning of the internal market.
Food supplements are defined by the Directive as "foodstuffs the purpose of which is to supplement the normal diet and which are concentrated sources of nutrients or other substances with a nutritional or physiological effect, alone or in combination, marketed in dose form, namely forms such as capsules, pastilles, tablets,
