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EUthyroid held a policy meeting in Brussels on April 28 2016, in order to promote harmonisation of iodine deficiency (ID) prevention programmes in Europe. Presentations from Henry Völzke, John Lazarus and Rodrigo Moreno-Reyes summarised the aims of EUthyroid, the current iodine status in Europe and a review of ID from the past to the present.
Yvette Azzopardi reviewed the legal issues around the ability of the EU to advise and legislate concerning health related topics. It became clear that EUthyroid would contribute important research results to underpin ID prevention in Europe. However, with national situations being highly diverse, the EU is unlikely to deliver legislation about harmonised fortification strategies. Instead, activities should be concentrated on advocating harmonised monitoring, which would further improve the scientific basis by providing comparable data. The topic of adverse health outcomes due to iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) in Europe should be brought to the attention of the Council of Health Ministers and possibly the Parliament through individuals in support of IDD prevention programs. Towards this, EUthyroid will explore contacts with national representatives from Austria, Belgium, Finland and Portugal and with interested MEPs. An active discussion followed the presentations providing a durable basis towards a dissemination strategy targeting major stakeholders for the remaining time of EUthyroid, which ends in 2018 with a conference on IDD-prevention.
Diana Albrecht
University Medicine Greifswald, Germany & EUthyroid
Yvette Azzopardi
Department for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), EC
Laurence Doughan
Belgian Ministry of Health
Ans Eilander
Unilever plc & Industrial partner of the Nutrient Intake Optimisation Taskforce of ILSI Europe
Iris Grünert
CEO biolution & EUthyroid
Stefan Grünert
biolution & EUthyroid
Katja Hora
SQM Europe N.V. & Industrial partner of the Nutrient Intake Optimisation Taskforce of ILSI Europe
John Lazarus
IGN & EUthyroid
Lilou van Lieshout
ILSI Europe
Wouter Lox
EuSalt
Rodrigo Moreno-Reyes
Erasme-ULB & EUthyroid
Tonino Picula
MEP Croatia
Henry Völzke
University Medicine Greifswald & EUthyroid
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From left to right: Stefan Grünert, biolution & EUthyroid; Ans Eilander Unilever plc & Industrial partner of the Nutrient Intake Optimisation Taskforce of ILSI Europe; Iris Grünert, CEO biolution & EUthyroid; Laurence Doughan, Belgian Ministry of Health; Rodrigo Moreno-Reyes, Erasme-ULB & EUthyroid; Yvette Azzopardi, Department for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), EC; Henry Völzke, University Medicine Greifswald & EUthyroid; Wouter Lox, EuSalt; John Lazarus, IGN & EUthyroid; Lilou van Lieshout, ILSI Europe; Katja Hora SQM Europe N.V. & Industrial partner of the Nutrient Intake Optimisation Taskforce of ILSI Europe; Diana Albrecht, University Medicine Greifswald, Germany & EUthyroid © biolution GmbH
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from left to right: Lilou van Lieshout, ILSI Europe; Yvette Azzopardi, Department for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE); John Lazarus, IGN; Wouter Lox, EuSalt; Rodrigo Moreno-Reyes, Erasme-ULB & EUthyroid © biolution GmbH