AHPA Updates

Federal, state, and local governments’ actions to address the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 have consistently included recommendations promoting or directives requiring social distancing as a key protective measure to minimize community spread of this disease. In making stay-at-home recommendations or issuing shelter-in-place orders, health agencies and other official bodies have identified certain industries as “essential businesses” or “critical infrastructure” whose employees and operations are (or should be) exempt from these recommendations and directives.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) convened a teleconference meeting on March 18 (FDA Briefing for Foods Stakeholders on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)), which was attended by AHPA president Michael McGuffin and by representatives of AHPA’s general counsel, Kleinfeld, Kaplan & Becker, LLP.

In a series of three letters to federal, state, and local governments, AHPA joined healthcare and food organizations to request that uniform language be included in shelter-at-home orders that provide direction to employees working in various industries related to dietary supplements, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals.

Resources included on this page are intended to assist our members on their sustainability journey and inclusion does not represent verification or endorsement by AHPA. If you feel there are resources missing or if something is included here that does not meet high sustainability standards, please let contact AHPA.

As we all try to adapt to rapid changes, please note that the services AHPA provides and the commitment we share with you to our mission to support responsible commerce in herbal products will not change. We are taking precautions in response to this current emergency, so AHPA’s staff are now all working remotely. Each of us can be reached at our normal phone numbers and email addresses (see here).

AHPA has compiled answers to frequently asked questions and resources to help prepare for and respond to COVID-19. This page will be revised and updated regularly as new information about the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and possible impacts on the herbal products industry and the people who work in this trade becomes available.

The March 2020 AHPA Report includes a discussion of proposals to make supplement regulation more efficient and effective, the Cannabis Committee's 10-year anniversary, AERs and supplement safety, postponed events and an update on international supplement regulation from IADSA.

Silver Spring, MD – The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), the voice of the herbal products industry, celebrates the 10-year anniversary of its Cannabis Committee today. The Committee was established on March 10, 2010 to address issues related to the safe use and responsible commerce of legally-marketed products derived from Cannabis species, including hemp and hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD).

Washington, D.C. — At the initial Congressional Dietary Supplement Caucus briefing of 2020, held last week, Dr. Richard Kingston, president, regulatory and scientific affairs and co-founder of SafetyCall International, educated congressional staffers on the types of evidence used to monitor dietary supplement safety, including adverse event reports, emergency room visits and poison control center data. Dr. Kingston is an expert on clinical toxicology and pharmacology, poison control, product post-market surveillance, and drug and dietary supplement safety.

The European Food Safety Authority issued a report regarding potential exposure to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from high consumption of hemp-based foods, the European Commission is finalizing limits for pyrrolizidine alkaloids in food supplements, Italy has set maximum limits on THC in hemp-derived foods and ingredients, the French ban on titanium dioxide in food supplements took effect on January 1, 2020, the German Institute for Risk Assessment has issued a recommendation against the consumption of red yeast rice supplements, and more in this issue of the IADSA Newsflash.