A Message from John Hammell Re:  Recent Developments in CODEX - Feb. 4, 2005

Some of the latest on the codex/vitamin issue. John says the court hearing went well and the judges were very "open" and appeared friendly to our cause. However this worries me- I have seen judges appear friendly in court to a side and then decide against it- being friendly in court often makes the side the judge appears to be favoring more secure- then they may not work so hard.  Also, showing favor to one side and then finding against same, makes it look as though you were actually impartial in the first place even if you weren't. So until decisions come down- keep praying!!!!! -K

------ Original Message ------
Received: Mon, 07 Feb 2005 05:24:55 PM EST
From: Ralph Fucetola JD <ralph.fucetola@usa.net
To: <kathy.greene@usa.net
Subject: Fwd: USANA's In House Attorney Is Failing to Understand the Codex
Issue, I'm Offering to Assist Him

------ Original Message ------
Received: Fri, 04 Feb 2005 10:46:51 PM EST
From: John Hammell <jham@iahf.com
To: susana@telusplanet.netCc: <updates@info.usana.com
Subject: USANA's In House Attorney Is Failing to Understand the Codex Issue,
I'm Offering to Assist Him

James Bramble, USANA's in house attorney is using the FDA as his source of information on Codex? Thats as mindless as a policeman contacting the mafia to ask if something is true or not. Bramble must be unfamiliar with how corrupt the FDA is and is failing to connect the dots on this issue.

He would have you believe its a "hoax". Well I have news for him, read the attached file, and understand the following: Christine Lewis Taylor, PhD is "on loan" from FDA to the World Health
Organization where she is in charge of the WHO "Nutrient Risk Assessment Project" which will have filled in the blanks on allowable potency levels for vitamins and minerals at Codex- which will push to RATIFY the global trade standard for vitamins and minerals between July 4-9 at the next general meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Rome, Italy which was driven to completion last November in Bonn.

I know Taylor personally. I know her from when I was on the US Codex Delegation to the Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses at meetings in Bonn Germany in '96, and in Berlin in '98. I was kicked off the US Delegation prior to the meeting in Berlin in 2000 due to my efforts as a whistleblower to put US Codex Delegate Beth Yetley of FDA under congressional scrutiny for crimes she committed at these meetings which I witnessed.

A Congressional Oversight hearing that I pushed for for 5 years was whitewashed on March 20, 2001. I wasn't allowed to testify, my witnesses weren't allowed to testify, the only person who was allowed to testify on this issue was a shill for an employee of Pfizer pharmaceutical company who still today is the chair of NNFA's International Committee- from which he is actively pulling the wool over the eyes of members of NNFA.

I just returned from Luxembourg where I was on assignment for Life Extension Magazine. I am sending you the article I just sent to them today for publication in their April issue, but it will appear a lot sooner than that on their website. The Life Extension Foundation http://www.lef.org is making a much bigger effort to keep abreast of this issue than USANA is, and so are people such as Jonathan Wright, MD who MCed the Emergency Meeting on Codex that was held on November 18th at the ACAM Alternative Medical Conference in San Diego. You can view the DVD of this Emergency Meeting at http://www.glycommunity.com/iahf I am ccing this to a couple of
attorneys who can also assist James Bramble in getting around the learning curve on this issue: Ralph Fucetola III, JD http://www.vitaminlawyer.com and also Scott Tips, JD, Legal Director of The National Health Federation- please read this article of Scott Tips- http://ahha.org/codextips2004.htm

It sickens me the way so many network marketing companies are misleading their distributors on this issue. There is obviously a group culture inside network marketing in which it is seriously frowned on to disseminate any information that might "scare off" potential new distributors, even if the information is TRUE. In this case it sure IS true, and it also APPEARS to be the case that Mr.Bramble has failed to properly do his homework. My intent here is not to demean the man, but I do hope he calls me so I can help him see this issue much more clearly.

At 02:46 AM 2/5/05, you wrote:
 ----- Forwarded message from USANA Health Sciences
 <updates@info.usana.com  ----
 -
  Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2005 08:44:36 -0700 (MST)
  From: USANA Health Sciences <updates@info.usana.com
 Reply-To: USANA Health Sciences <updates@info.usana.com
  Subject: Questions About Codex
  To: susana@telusplanet.net

Questions About Codex

Dear Associates,
Recently, a few Distributors have expressed concern with the activities of the  Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) in drafting certain proposed guidelines with respect to dietary supplements.

Codex is a joint Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) Food Standards Program.  

Codex consists of more than 150 member countries that work together to set and harmonize international standards for food commodities and food products.

Some Distributors are worried that the Codex guidelines will somehow restrict their ability to build a successful USANA business. Much of what you see on the Internet amounts to scare tactics. Let me assure you there is no reason for alarm.  Many consumers and others are concerned about the activities of Codex with respect to certain proposed standards for dietary supplements. You should know that this is nothing new, as dietary supplement consumers have been asking about "Codex" and this perceived "threat" to the vitamin and mineral industry  since 1995. It was in October of that year that the German delegation to Codex proposed that the Committee consider developing guidelines for dietary supplements. The proposed guidelines, among other things, recommended minimum  and maximum quantities of vitamins and minerals for dietary supplements, established recommendations for acceptable and unacceptable ingredients, and addressed certain labeling issues, including claims. The basic purpose of the guidelines was and is to promote the establishment of uniform international standards for dietary supplement safety and consumer protection, not to take away the rights of consumers to purchase these products.
 
It is important to note that a final Codex standard is not legally binding on  any of Codex's members; rather, it is a model for possible adoption as national legislation that is based on available scientific research and knowledge. No country is obligated to enact a Codex standard as its national law. Some concerns arise from, at least in part, a misunderstanding of the requirements that a country is obligated to abide by as a signatory to certain international trade agreements relating to these issues. This is not the truth. In fact, the U.S. Government, including the FDA, has made it abundantly clear that NOTHING in these international trade agreements or processes will restrict either the sale of dietary supplements in the United States or the type of information that manufacturers may provide to consumers about their products. In fact, the FDA has stated that the agency's general position with respect  to the United States' participation in the development and use of any international standards affecting dietary supplements is that any such standards must: (1) ensure product safety, (2) be based on sound scientific and technical information, and (3) NOT be in conflict with any statute, regulation, or policy under which the FDA operates. This policy ensures that the U.S. position is consistent with applicable U.S. laws. Moreover, it is important to remember that the neither the U.S., Canada, Australia, nor any other
nation, by participating in the Codex process, surrenders to an international organization its sovereignty with respect to consumer health and safety. For more information on the FDA's position and its policy regarding Codex, you may visit the FDA's web site at www.fda.gov or more specifically, you can visit the following web site: http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/codex.html. You can also read about the U.S. Codex Committee and its activities with respect to Codex at www.fsis.usda.gov.
Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any additional questions or concerns regarding this matter.
Sincerely,
 
 James Bramble
 General Counsel
 USANA Health Sciences