I suddenly realized that we were all here, spending time on this, because NHF had reacted so strongly and persistently two years ago. NHF had caused this. It felt good….

Acknowledged as being rather outspoken, NHF started off its participation in the meeting on Monday, November 14th, with a bang, speaking out at every turn in favor of broadening the Terms of Reference (i.e., mandate) given to the Electronic Working Group (subcommittee) for establishing NRV standards for nutrients so as to include science other than just FAO/WHO scientific findings. Most delegates – still uncritically genuflecting at the altar of FAO/WHO science – defer to their science in adopting numbers to insert into such standards. Forgotten is the great World of Science that beckons beyond the narrow cultish confines of FAO/WHO science. NHF’s view is that when Codex considers adopting any standards, it should look far and wide at all pertinent science, whether it comes from FAO/WHO or not.
Amazingly, after all, NHF’s near solitary and obstinate opposition to the vitamin-and-mineral NRVs back in 2009 had killed their momentum on the path towards adoption. But for that opposition, they would, by now, have been well along the 8-step track to adoption by Codex. The 2010 Committee meeting in Santiago, Chile saw even more opposition and a request by the Committee for FAO/WHO to come up with a report on NRVs, which they did just in time for this November 2011 Committee meeting.
So, as I sat there on Monday and leafed through the rather impressive 39-page FAO/WHO report, and listened while the WHO representative presented the report and the Committee then discussed it, I suddenly realized that we were all here, spending time on this, because NHF had reacted so strongly and persistently two years ago. NHF had caused this. It felt good.
The CCNFSDU created an Electronic Working Group charged with reporting to the Committee at next year’s meeting with its recommendations for NRVs for vitamins and minerals. The NHF will be part of this eWG. This means that – for a third year in a row – no dumbed-down vitamin-and-mineral NRVs were adopted at Codex.