Further delay over ‘miracle’ goods report

Date: 24/04/1997

By Leyla Linton

A LONG-awaited European Commission report on so-called 'miracle products' - goods which make fantastic promises based on no objective evidence - is facing yet more delays.

After 18 months of cajoling, officials have now received the necessary information from almost all EU governments on their experience of such products.

But Italy has yet to reply, although Rome says it hopes to do so by the end of April.

Linguistic and other problems with an independent study on miracle products in the EU's three newest member states (Austria, Finland and Sweden) have caused additional delays.

Officials also claim that the reorganisation of the Directorate-General for consumer affairs (DGXXIV) as it takes over responsibility for food safety issues from DGVI (agriculture) has not helped matters, diverting attention away from the problem.

“I think we are going to be forgotten,” said one long-suffering official who has worked on the report for more than 18 months.

Officials in DGXXIV, who had hoped to complete their study by the end of this month, now have no idea when they will be able to finish it. When it does appear, the report will give an overview of how vulnerable EU consumers are exploited by the makers of such products and consider ways to tackle the issue.

Examples of false claims made by manufacturers include promises of baldness cures, instant sex appeal, or dramatic weight loss. “They are taking advantage of the trauma some consumers face,” said the official.

Although a 1984 EU directive on 'false' advertising should, in theory, have been put on to national statute books across the Union by now, the picture is unclear in many member states.

Commission officials say the problem is most acute in southern member states such as Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and parts of France.