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EU rules stop Swedish 'potency mustard'

Published: 27 Jan 13 16:47 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/45850/20130127/

Unable to prove its claims of heightened virility, a local Swedish firm which manufactures a mustard has been warned to stop selling its "potency mustard" in order to conform to stricter EU rules, according to a report by Sveriges Radio.

The product which has been sold under the name Potenssenap, which translates as "Potency Mustard", by a family firm on Visingsö near Jönköping for the past 30 years must now come up with another name.

"I thought it was just a big joke," said Mathilda Wetter, who runs the Senapsfabrikörn factory, referring to when she received a letter from the local authorities.

But as the firm has no scientific basis for claiming that its reindeer horn infused mustard delivers on its claims, the firm accepts that it will have to fall into line.

The reason for the decision is that the EU has introduced uniform rules for member states to require health products to deliver on their pledges.

Wetter told Sveriges Radio that the product has been a popular over the course of its 30 years on the shelves with many tourists buying it as a present, especially for weddings.

Despite the retreat, Wetter maintains that she still believes that the mustard indeed does pack the desired punch that its label promises.

The Local/pvs (news@thelocal.se)

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21:58 January 27, 2013 by byke
Redbull ..... Gives you wings.
06:31 January 28, 2013 by rybo1
Quite frankly the EU completely sucks. I wish we had a referendum to get out of this big brother, monstrosity.
07:56 January 28, 2013 by RobinHood
I always rub in a generous portion of Potenssenap before bedtime.
08:31 January 28, 2013 by godnatt
Reason #5,486 to leave the sinking ship otherwise known as the EU....
10:03 January 28, 2013 by byke
So the EU had to step in and ask the seller to prove the product does at it claimed?

Shame sweden hadn't done it in the 30 years the companies been operating.
17:38 January 28, 2013 by oddsock
Guinness is good for you!
20:31 January 28, 2013 by eurobloke
This article is a good old bit of a British tabloid euromyth.

If you actually know a little bit about this, you would understand. Under European laws, you can't make medical claims on food unless they are evidentially backed-up by medical science. Hence you could say this soup has 2 potions of your five-a-day, which is dietitians say is important to keep to a healthy diet, but you can't say that it cures cancer.

They could legitimately say this mustard, contains powdered reindeer horn which is considered a traditional aphoristic, as that isn't a medical claim like it will help you give a good erection as that is a medical claim.
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