Are health regulatory bodies suppressing free speech?
Written by Stephen Daniells
Saturday, 19 December 2009 18:26
US attorney Jonathan Emord draws parallels between his experiences in the US
challenging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the current health claims
situation in Europe on the basis of free speech.
Speaking at the NutraIngredients Health Claims
2010 conference in Brussels, Emord tells Stephen Daniells that a legal action to
challenge the strict claims assessment process enshrined in the EU health claims
regulation could be pursued on the grounds of free speech.
“I get the impression that people [in Europe] are dissatisfied,” said Emord. “I
think there is the fear that the regulatory establishment will ostracise or
punish a party that goes to court against it, and so there is this fear, well
understood – I appreciate it from the American experience – that the regulatee
doesn’t want to challenge the regulator.”
“But I think that when the food safety authority here, and the European
Commission, and ultimately the European Parliament, make decisions that
implement and enforce prohibitions on speech about the potential of substances
to effect health and disease, that will invoke a negative response, and sooner
or later I believe it is inevitable that there will be [legal] challenges,”
added Emord.
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US attorney Jonathan Emord draws parallels between his experiences in the US
challenging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the current health claims
situation in Europe on the basis of free speech.
