To: IAHF List
Subject: IADSA (Which NNFA and UNPA Belong to) Is OPENLY CALLING FOR GLOBAL HARMONIZATION of VITAMIN REGS: Open Letter to Dan Burton/Beth Clay - Do NOT WHITEWASH the MARCH 20 CODEX VITAMIN OVERSIGHT HEARING
From: "International Advocates for Health Freedom" jham@iahf.com
Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 16:02:58 -0500

IAHF List and Congressman Burton: Check out the press release below about IADSA's meeting at the end of this month in Capetown. The theme of their conference is "Towards a Global Regulatory Model" (for dietary supplements) NNFA and UNPA both belong to IADSA.

This puts all 3 of Dan Burton's planned Oversight witnesses (Riedel, Seckman, and Israelson) into a direct conflict of interest. TJ- on the Government Reform Committee staff, says "no witnesses have been announced yet". Perhaps not officially, but this witness list was leaked by an attorney working directly with the Committee and we can only hope they've been false rumors, here is why:

A Global Regulatory Model for dietary supplements is grossly inconsistent with US dietary supplement laws. NNFA, UNPA, IADSA are all doing the bidding of the pharmaceutical interests that control them, and they're trying to bring about a harmonization of our dietary supplement laws to a grossly restrictive international standard. See the urgent message below to Congressman Burton:

Regarding: Codex Vitamin Oversight Hearing Tuesday March 20th Gross Conflict of Interest Involving Scheduled Witnesses

Dear Congressman Burton:

I have faxed the following evidence to your main office, and to TJ in the Government Reform Committee Office that clearly shows a gross conflict of interest involving Loren Israelsen, David Seckman, and Karl Riedel, (apparently) the only witnesses scheduled to present oral testimony at your March 20th Oversight hearing next tuesday. (We hope these rumors are false.) (NNFA had an announcement on their website that Riedel would be presenting oral testimony, the other two we learned of through a trusted source on the Hill, an attorney working for a major lobbying firm who is working directly with your committee regarding this hearing. We hope this is all bad information, but this source has never been wrong about things like this, and as none of our people have been contacted, we have no reason to disbelieve it.)

If these are indeed the only witnesses you allow to present oral testimony at the Oversight Hearing on March 20th, you will be whitewashing the hearing, and the truth will not come out on the Codex vitamin issue. The grass roots is asking for equal time. If you allow these three witnesses to present oral testimony but do not allow Rick Malter, PhD; Suzanne Harris,JD; or myself to speak to the facts of this issue, you will be disenfranchising the vitamin consumers whose interests you purport to be defending.

Seckman and Riedel represent the National Nutritional Foods Assn, while Israelsen represents the Utah Natural Products Alliance, his law firm the LDI Group, and he is on the Board of an organization which both NNFA and UNPA belong to: IADSA- the International Association of Dietary Supplement Associations.

IADSA: PUBLICLY ANNOUNCING AN INTENTION TO BRING ABOUT GLOBAL HARMONIZATION OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENT LAWS

IADSA (Which NNFA and UNPA both belong to) by no means represents the inerests of the vitamin consuming public.

Please examine http://www.hpasa.co.za/news_release.htm where you'll find the following notice of IADSA's upcoming annual meeting in Capetown, South Africa. IAHF correspondent Anthony Rees, health freedom fighter from South Africa will be covering this IADSA meeting as a member of the press for the South African Health Counter News, and he alerted me to this url, so lets take a close look:

Richard Malter,PhD; Suzanne Harris,JD, John Hammell, President of IAHF, and more than 21,000 vitamin consumers world wide who have signed Anti Codex Anti EU Vitamin Directive Petitions at http://www.garynull.com/issues/Codex/AboutCodex.htm and at http://www.laleva.cc/petizione/english/intro_eng.html OPPOSE global harmonization of dietary supplement laws, we're demanding OVERSIGHT on this issue because we have EVIDENCE that the FDA has taken action at Codex that runs diametrically OPPOSITE US law, that FDA is attempting to HARMONIZE our laws, and here you are allegedly giving us "OVERSIGHT" while apparently planning on DISENFRANCHISING the witnesses representing grass roots interests who are capable of bringing out the TRUTH on this issue, while you plan on allowing witnesses representing two trade associations, both of which are members of IADSA, to present oral testimony even though IADSA is OPENLY calling for a GLOBAL HARMONIZATION of the world's dietary supplement laws.

See http://www.hpasa.co.za/news_release.htm Here is the text, and below it, please see ADDITIONAL concerns about your chosen 3 witnesses- bear in mind we're NOT asking you to block them from testifying, ALL WE'RE ASKING FOR IS EQUAL TIME TO PRESENT ORAL TESTIMONY

NEWS RELEASE A WORLD-FIRST IN SOUTH AFRICA FOR COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE

South Africa will be hosting complementary medicine's first international conference on proposed global regulation entitled, "Towards a Global Regulatory Model," in Cape Town from March 30 to 31, 2001

Leading industry experts from the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia will represent views, case studies and possible regulatory approaches that could assist the process towards global regulation.

Internationally the complementary medicine industry is worth $US 36 Billion with herbal foods and supplements representing $US 19 Billion and vitamins and food supplements representing $US 18 Billion. Although the South African industry represents less than 1% of the world market at R 1.7 Billion, it is exhibiting the same rapid growth pattern.

Comments South Africa-based IADSA* (International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations) President, Bruce Dennison. "It is a tremendous honor for South Africa to be selected as the host country for an international conference of this caliber. Complementary medicine worldwide is an exciting, progressive and rapidly growing industry - it's growth mainly motivated by powerful consumer demand and a subsequent keen interest from the heavily regulated traditional medicine sector.

"Global regulation of dietary and food supplements has become an industry imperative and if implemented, will alter the nature of the international complementary medicine industry forever."

The conference will strive to achieve an international perspective on global thinking and developments within the industry. Presentations will examine framework directives (the suggested rules and regulations that should govern the marketing of complementary medicines), risk assessment /management (including proposals on safe product regulation) and the various viewpoints on claim substantiation. The importance of quality products for the continued growth if the industry is highlighted and an in-depth look at herbals - the fastest growing sector of the industry - emphasises the conflicting approaches adopted by various countries.

Concludes Dennison. "The conference was structured to provide a window on current international thinking and a platform from which to start formulating harmonised regulation around the world. The next step will be the Co-ordination of an international workshop to take this initiative further.

"We look forward to welcoming the 26 IADSA* member countries to this far-reaching conference and urge the local complementary and traditional medicine industries to attend. 'Towards a Global Regulatory Model' promises to be a watershed event in the development of complementary medicine."

*IADSA (International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations) members represent 26 major countries around the world and are the most powerful lobby group within their respective countries with regards to complementary medicine.

For further workshop and registration details contact:

Deirdre Allen

Tel/Fax: (011) 789-4464

E-mail: hpasa@hpasa.co.za

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IAHF and the huge numbers of vitamin consumers around the world who have been signing the 2 aforementioned petitions want and deserve GENUINE oversight on the Codex vitamin issue, and we will not TOLERATE fake oversight. We will not TOLERATE a whitewashed hearing.

I have faxed you hard evidence showing that Loren Israelsen, Exec Dir of UNPA, Board Member of IADSA, has served as counsel to a German pharmaceutical lobby group (the EAPC) which has strongly pushed for American harmonization towards the German Commission E regulatory model for herbs, a model which is not consistent with the will of the American people as expressed under DSHEA.

It is a GROSS conflict of interest for you to allow a man who is on the Board of IADSA, which is openly calling for global harmonization of the world's dietary supplement laws, and who has represented the interests of the following German pharmaceutical firms to present oral testimony while apparently intending to EXCLUDE ours:

Boerhinger Ingleheim, Lichtwer Pharma GmbH, Dr.William Schwabe GmbH & Co---along with Bioforce AG (Switzerland) Bioforce (Netherlands), Indena (Italy), Institut Henri Balfour (France) Pharmaton (Switzerland), RP Sherer (UK), Botanicare Natural Products (Israel)

These foreign companies, represented by Israelsen, seek to get the FDA to make changes to their regulations and policies involving phytomedicines that would try to usher in a German styled regulatory model to the USA which would enable companies represented by Israelsen a chance to drive many of their smaller competitors out of business. This is because only the larger companies can afford the costs involved of getting licensed by the FDA to be OTC drug manufacturers,and ONLY those companies could make medicinal claims on their products.

IAHF contends that it would not be in the best interests of American consumers if this German regulatory styled system were adopted here. We maintain that standardization of an herbal product does not improve upon a whole herbal product, yet under a German styled regulatory model, only standardized herbs can have medicinal claims attached to them. We maintain that standardizing an herb destroys the natural synergy of the whole herb, making it more of a drug than an herb, and making it less, not more, effective. Many well known herbalists agree including David Christopher, son of the late John Christopher, who runs the School of Natural Healing, and who sells a line of whole herbs that should not be exluded from making medicinal claims, but which could be driven out of business if a German styled regulatory model such as that pushed by the EAPC (and IADSA) were ushered into the USA via harmonization.

Do not attempt to tell me that herbs "aren't part of Codex". In '96 at a Codex meeting of the CCNFSDU in Bonn, I observed Dr.Yetley of FDA violate US law by illegally seconding a Canadian motion to shift herbs entirely OUT of Codex and over to a secret panel at WHO to which the grass roots has zero access. This move was illegal because WHO regards all dietary supplements to be "DRUGS" (inconsistent with US law), while at Codex at least herbs would have been considered foods (consistent with US law).

The Canadian motion was made at Codex to shift herbs out of Codex and over to WHO in direct response to an outpouring of grass roots complaints in Canada as Canadian dietary supplement consumers flooded Ottawa with complaints about a Canadian motion to ban the sale of a lot of safe and effective herbs from international commerce. The shift from Codex to WHO was just a way by which pharmaceutical interests could shift all deliberations regarding herbs to a forum to which the grass roots has ZERO access....... even WORSE than Codex.....

Getting back to Riedel...... Riedel is co chair of NNFA's International committee along with Randy Dennin, CEO of Capsugel, subsidary of Warner Lambert, which was bought out by Pfizer. [Proof: see http://www.capsugel.com/about/index.html Riedel is echoing Dennin's pro pharmaceutical, pro FDA, pro NAS views on CODEX. This is a gross conflict of interest, and it is NOT acceptable to American vitamin consumers. We maintain that it is a conflict of interest for an employee of Pfizer to cochair NNFA's International Committee, that such a person would act as scripted by corporate counsel within that corporate entity.

When I was on the American Codex Delegation to the CCNFSDU meeting in Berlin in '98, Riedel admitted to me that he hadn't even read the National Academy of Sciences pharmaceutically funded, very biased, unscientific paper titled "A Risk Assessment Model for Establishing Safe Upper Levels for Nutrients". He indicated that he was signing off on it claiming that this somehow "protects" our industry.

Attorney Suzanne Harris is an expert on international law. She disagrees. She has been to Codex and WHO meetings in the USA, Germany, Switzerland and Australia and your "Oversight" hearing would be whitewashed if she were denied the chance to speak to this issue via oral testimony.

Rick Malter,Ph.D. is an expert on clinical nutrition, his life was saved by taking vitamins, and his rebuttal to the unscientific National Academy of Sciences "Risk Assesssment" paper was published in a authoritative medical journal, the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine.

Do you REALLY intend to block him from presenting oral testimony? On WHAT grounds???

In '98 in Berlin I confronted Dr.Beth Yetley of the FDA at a pre meeting of the US Codex Delegation to the CCNFSDU with copies of the two letters that you can see on the IAHF website at http://www.iahf.com There you will find your signature, Dan. You will see that you told Yetley NOT to put the pharmaceutically funded, biased, unscientific paper titled "A Risk Assessment Model for Establishing Safe Upper Levels for Nutrients" on the table at Codex.

From a legal standpoint, you, Congressman Paul, Stump, Cook, and De Fazio were absolutely CORRECT in what you told Yetley not to do. You were acting on a basis of the amendment to the harmonization language of the FDA Modernization Act of 1997 that IAHF worked hard to generate in '97 and which Senator Hatch discussed in his statement in the Conference Report on FDAMA which IAHF cited in written testimony.

Congressman Ron Paul has evidence from the Congressional Research Service that Federal Statute 19 USC 3512 (a)(1) and (a)(2) do NOT protect our domestic laws from harmonization in actuality, and all of this is thoroughly discussed in IAHF's written comments and I should not be blocked from presenting oral testimony, nor should Harris or Malter.

If you block us from presenting oral testimony, it would become very widely known that genuine oversight never took place on this issue on March 20th. Please do not block our oral testimony. If you do, you will be in violation of your Oath of Office, and every vitamin consumer in the USA would have a right to be very angry at you. I am trying to help you here, because it seems clear that you have been set up- blindsided, by pharmaceutical interests intent on covering up the truth. Please do not let that happen.