Codex competition, or ?

[Shannon Nelson]

Lest we think the "health nazi" forces are lacking in humor, check this
out:

FDA CRACKS DOWN ON
NATURAL HERBAL SWEETENER, STEVIA
The FDA [Food and Drug Administration--US], under pressure from the
powerful sugar and artificial sweetener lobby, has issued a warning
letter to Celestial Seasonings for using a popular natural sweetener in
some of its teas. The letter indicates the FDA classifies the herb
stevia as "unsafe", even though it is a main staple sweetener in
countries like China and Japan and has been used without negative
health effects by indigenous people for at least 400 years. In the
FDA's letter to Celestial Seasonings, the agency aggressively condemns
the use of the herb, noting that "enforcement action may include
seizure of violative products". The FDA claims no evidence has been
provided to the agency regarding the herb's safety, but federal records
reveal the FDA has received over a thousand scientific studies
regarding stevia, and all but one of them verify the safety of the
herb. In sharp contrast, nearly half of the studies provided to the FDA
regarding the artificial sweetener aspartame, previously owned by
Monsanto, indicate serious health concerns, yet it is one of the most
commonly used (and one of the most profitable) sweeteners in the U.S.
The OCA has also verified the FDA has strengthened enforcement of
stevia imports at the borders. Last week, the agency updated a document
that mandates detainment of imported food products containing stevia.
Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/article ... e_7140.cfm
In case anyone's not familiar with stevia, is it (as the full article
explains well) utterly innocuous, and the idea of an FDA crackdown on
it is pretty ludicrous...
Shannon