AHPA Updates

AHPA Chief Information Analyst Merle Zimmermann, Ph.D. presented last week at the Mary Frances Picciano Dietary Supplement Research Practicum held by the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus in Bethesda, MD.

American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) President Michael McGuffin urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use existing authority to quickly create a lawful pathway -- including considering issuing a interim final rule -- for marketing of cannabidiol (CBD)-containing supplements and foods at a public meeting held by FDA in Silver Spring, MD.

The April-May AHPA Report includes strategies for TCM sustainability, legal and regulatory updates, recent AHPA news and advocacy and much more.

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced on May 9 that it increased tariffs on approximately $200 billion worth of Chinese imports initially identified in September 2018 from 10 percent to 25 percent.

In a letter to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), AHPA strongly recommends that the office ensures that the Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee (DARTIC) sufficiently differentiates between the parts of the cannabis plant and the route of exposure when it reviews scientific literature to determine if certain cannabis articles should be listed under Proposition 65 as causing reproductive toxicity.

China considers adding 5 functional ingredients, including reishi powder and spirulina, to its food raw materials directory, and changes to permitted health food function claims, in this issue of the IADSA Newsflash.

California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) on May 2, 2019 posted a definition of “nickel (soluble compounds)” to clarify the scope of the agency’s listing last October of these compounds as chemicals known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity for purposes of Proposition 65.

The AHPA Foundation for Education and Research on Botanicals (ERB Foundation) issued a request for proposals (RFP) to award grant funding to eligible applicants in order to enhance and promote knowledge and understanding of sustainable harvest of goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis).

The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) has adopted a new Guidance Policy for dietary supplement and food products that contain hemp and hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) to help ensure the industry complies with existing regulations.