The EU General Court has overturned a European Commission ban on aloe vera products in food after a lengthy legal battle.
The ban came into effect in March 2021. Law firms began seeking a reversal in May of that year.
Aloe and other plants containing HADs were banned. This decision had a huge impact on both the nutrition industry and the nutricosmetics sector.
Aloe vera ban overturned by EU General Court
Food critics have lambasted the European Commission for "overstepping the mark" by banning mixtures rather than individual substances.
Furthermore, a scientific assessment by EFSA was used to support the EU General Court's decision, but the court found no evidence that consumers were at risk.
In May, a case filed by the law firm Covington & Burling set a precedent that led to the reversal.
Brian Kelly, a partner at Covington & Burling, said: "The Commission does not have the authority to ban botanical 'preparations'. French Under this regulation. The court agreed that the Commission had overstepped its bounds.
What was the reason for the aloe ban in 2021
The court said that nothing in EFSA's 2017 scientific opinion or any other part of the file indicates that the substances and preparations in question actually pose a risk to consumers.
The case has a wider impact on how the Commission makes risk management decisions and on EFSA's hazard/risk approach to risk assessment.
According to the initial decision, which was based on a 2017 scientific opinion: "Given the serious adverse effects of aloe-emodin and emodin in food, and the fact that there is no safe daily consumption of hydroxyanthracene derivatives that would not raise concerns for human health, these substances should be prohibited."
The conclusion was that aloe-emodin and emodin derivatives, as well as aloe preparations containing hydroxyanthracene, should be added to Annex III, Part A, to Regulation No 1925/2006.
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