09.01.04
At its meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 29th, the Codex Alimentarius Commission made an important advance in the progress of universal guidelines on the use of vitamins and minerals in food supplements. According to the International Association of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations (IADSA), Brussels, Belgium, the draft text of the guidelines now requires that the establishment of maximum levels for vitamins and minerals is based on sound scientific risk assessment. The option to use a multiple of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) to establish maximum levels has been deleted from the draft. The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), Washington, D.C., said that the issue of maximum contents for nutrients in dietary supplement products had been the most difficult issue in the guideline, but consensus was reached in 2003, after several years of debate.