When Laws Get Totally Out Of Control

Last week the U.K. Telegraph reported that the European Union (EU) has banned drink manufacturers from claiming that water can prevent dehydration. I am still trying to figure that one out.

The article reports:

EU officials concluded that, following a three-year investigation, there was no evidence to prove the previously undisputed fact.

Producers of bottled water are now forbidden by law from making the claim and will face a two-year jail sentence if they defy the edict, which comes into force in the UK next month.

There are a few problems with this statement. First of all, with all the current problems in the EU, why in the world are they worried about whether or not water is the solution to dehydration? Second of all, this does seem to be a rather odd conclusion.

The story began when German professors Dr Andreas Hahn and Dr Moritz Hagenmeyer, asked the European Commission if the claim that “regular consumption of significant amounts of water can reduce the risk of development of dehydration” could be made on drink labels.

The article reports:

However, last February, the European Food Standards Authority (EFSA) refused to approve the statement.

A meeting of 21 scientists in Parma, Italy, concluded that reduced water content in the body was a symptom of dehydration and not something that drinking water could subsequently control.

Now the EFSA verdict has been turned into an EU directive which was issued on Wednesday.

I am not a scientific type, but this just seems odd to me!

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