Dr. Dilis Clare:

Having sat on the HPRA committee on herbs and medicines, I am conscious that this will also open up the possibility that vast amounts of committee time and paper will be involved in deciding what is a food, a supplement or a medicine. I have been in the European Parliament which debated whether prunes were a laxative for four or five years. There is no evidence that prunes are a laxative. Therefore, according to the regulations, the European Food Safety Authority, EFSA, had to state that prunes were not a health food. The debate went on for a long time because many other issues hinged on the case. I wish the committee well with the amount of administration, people hours and paper that will go into what is such a minor change. It will be phenomenally difficult. The same applies to herbal teas and medicines and considering what is a botanical and what is a food. There are three different lists in the EU, including what is known as the BELFRIT list. What is being opened up is huge.