Idiot European Union ministers rule prunes are not a laxative!

BRUSSELS, Belgium (PNN) - December 14, 2011 - The EU has ruled that prunes do not have a laxative effect and producers cannot say they do.

It comes after the organization was mocked last month for a ruling that led to a ban on claims that drinking water can prevent dehydration.

Despite a long held belief - supported by decades if not centuries of empirical evidence - that prunes are good for improving bowel function, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has ruled this is not the case. Its (so called) experts said there was "insufficient" evidence of a link between the dried plums and normal bowel function after looking at three studies of prune consumption.

MEP Sir Graham Watson has now challenged an EU Commissioner to a prune eating contest after his food safety committee ruled that prunes do not have a laxative effect.

Sir Graham, the Liberal Democrat member for South West England and Gibraltar, raised the issue after the EU refused to recognize the high fiber content of fruits like pomegranates, berries and prunes.

"I have asked the Commission if it is satisfied with the criteria and methodology used for testing such claims because I know that prunes contain two substances, sorbitol and dihydrophenylisatin, which have laxative effects. But most of our constituents do not require a scientific test. I have also invited the Commissioner responsible for health and consumer policy, John Dalli, to a prune eating contest to see for himself," said Sir Graham.

Last month, the morons in the EU concluded there was no evidence to prove drinking water can prevent dehydration. The conclusions led to a ban on bottled water companies using the claim.

At the time, Conservative MEP Roger Helmer said, “This is stupidity writ large. The euro is burning, the EU is falling apart and yet here they are: highly-paid, highly-pensioned officials worrying about the obvious qualities of water and trying to deny us the right to say what is patently true. If ever there were an episode which demonstrates the folly of the great European project then this is it.”