EU-wide ban on aloe vera preparations in food overturned

A European Commission ban on the use of aloe vera preparations used in food has been annulled by the EU General Court following a lengthy legal battle. A ban was enforced in March 2021, with legal firms pursuing an overturn from May in the same year. The ban covered botanical species containing hydroxyanthracene derivatives (HADs), which included aloe extracts, a decision that had a huge impact on the nutrition and nutricosmetic industries. The European commission had “overstepped the mark” in prohibiting preparations instead of individual substances, critics from the food sector blasted. Moreover, the ban was based on an EFSA scientific assessment, from which the EU General Court failed to identify evidence of consumer risk. A case lodged in May by legal firm Covington & Burling set a precedent and resulted in the overturn. “The Commission has no power to ban botanical ‘preparations’ under this regulation and the court agreed that the Commission had overstepped the mark,” said ...