Food of a kind used for human consumption

Food of a kind used for human consumption is supposed to be zero-rated for VAT – one of the UK’s major advantages over most other places in the EU. We may not be famous for our food, but at least we don’t charge VAT on it. Except… there are a lot of exceptions.
The first possible argument is about whether something really is food. It sounds fairly obvious, but not everything that you put in your mouth qualifies. I put aloe gel on my skin when I have sunburn, but I didn’t realise you could eat it until I read a case about Forever Living Products, who make a dietary supplement out of it. This contains no fat, no protein, and only minimal traces of carbohydrates, which come from cellulose – which the human body cannot metabolise. At least the fibre would help your digestion. There were some added flavours and vitamins, and different versions of the product were marketed as “part of a complete meal replacement package”. The marketing literature said:
“Taken daily, Gel is one of the best nutritional supplements available…it works by providing a rich cocktail of nutritional elements whose combined action and balance produce a more powerful effect together than would be expected from the addition of the individual components. This is because they work as a team, enhancing each other’s effect – known as synergism. It also has adaptogenic properties which means that different individuals take from it what they need, therefore the benefits vary from person to person.”
Customs said that it wasn’t food, so it couldn’t be zero-rated. The Tribunal looked at all the evidence – apparently there wasn’t very much of it – and concluded that there was absolutely nothing in the aloe products that would promote life and growth, and it was therefore not food. At the most, it was a food supplement, but the Chairman seemed pretty sceptical about even that. He didn’t think that a supplement was the same as food itself.
Oddly, the Food Safety Act 1990 says that food includes “articles and substances of no nutritional value which are used for human consumption”. But this is only for food safety purposes – Forever Living have to comply with that Act to make sure that their product won’t do you any damage. But they have to charge you VAT because it apparently won’t do you any good either – well, no provable good, but you might get a psychological benefit if you believe in it.