HUNDREDS of herbal remedies on the shelves of health food shops and herbalists are set to be banned under new licensing rules.

The EU directive, which comes into force on May 1, means that all products will have to be licensed before being supplied to customers.

It could see health products vanishing off the shelves as smaller drug manufacturers struggle to stump up the many thousands of pounds required for a licence to keep making them.

The move aims to protect users from damaging side-effects caused by taking unsuitable medicines.

But Huddersfield businessman and shopkeeper Adrian Midgley has slammed the new regulations as unnecessary.

He claims the move to protect people from potentially dangerous products could actually prove more harmful as customers are forced ‘underground’ for supplies.

Adrian, who owns Half Moon Health Foods, said: “As far I can see there are no positives with these new regulations.

“They seem disproportionate and I don’t see how they are going to benefit anybody.

“I can understand what the EU legislation is trying to do but this industry has been working for many years and we’ve not harmed anybody yet.

“If we can’t offer certain products for sale because they don’t have a licence people are just going to go underground and buy things online.

“This means they are not going to be as clued up on what they’re buying as they would be if they came in and sought advice from professionals like ourselves.”

The EU directive means that all herbal products considered to be medicinal will have to be registered with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.