Votes · 8 October 2026
Objection pursuant to Rule 115(2), (3) and (4)(c): Certain botanical species containing hydroxyanthracene derivatives
This vote is about certain plants containing hydroxyanthracene derivatives (such as senna or rhubarb), used in food supplements, which the Commission wants to ban.
Background
Some plants – medicinal rhubarb, senna and buckthorn or cascara – contain hydroxyanthracene derivatives, used as laxatives in food supplements. In 2024 EFSA concluded that their safety could not be established, because some of these substances can damage DNA. The Commission therefore wants to ban these preparations in food. An objection sought to block the ban.
- The measure would ban preparations of medicinal rhubarb, senna and buckthorn or cascara in food, including supplements.
- Supporters cite public health; opponents, mostly on the right, think regulating these plants would be more proportionate than banning them.
- A first ban from 2021 had been partly annulled by the EU General Court in 2024; the Commission is therefore putting forward a new text.
Rejected: 282 for, 259 against, 23 abstentions, 155 did not vote.
Reference: B10-0465/2026