LUXEMBOURG, 12 July 2005 - The European Court of Justice has delivered its judgement today in a legal case that challenged the restrictive provisions of the EU's food supplements directive. The judges confirmed the validity of the supplements directive. The verdict states that:

"Examination of the question referred to the Court has revealed no factor of such a kind as to affect the validity of Articles 3, 4(1) and 15(b) of Directive 2002/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 June 2002 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to food supplements."

The decision comes as a surprise to activists and observers, because the court's advocate general had previously expressed serious doubts as to the validity of at least some of the provisions of the directive, which require expensive "proof of safety" to be supplied to the European authorities for ingredients, even if they have been used safely for years.

For a copy of the full judgement, go to this page on the EU Court's site and follow the "Judgement" link.