AHPA Alerts

AHPA has released updates via the online Botanical Safety Handbook 2nd ed. to four additional botanicals.

In this issue of the IADSA Newsflash:  China has issued three new technical guidelines related to health food; India is amending its supplement and food regulation; Korea has introduced some changes to its health functional Food Code; Australia has classified sports supplements under the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA); and more.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule on November 6, 2020 revising and expanding the pesticide tolerance crop grouping regulations. Crop groups are lists of similar crops which allow the establishment of shared pesticide tolerances for all commodities included in each group, permitting the use of identified pesticides on those crops. The final rule converts the previous group 19, “Herbs and Spices” into two new groups: group 25 for herbs and group 26 for spices. A large number of commodities were also added to each group.

The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) joined a coalition of organizations headed by the Food and Beverage Issue Alliance (FBIA) to request a comment period extension for FDA’s recently published proposed rule on food traceability. AHPA has previously reported on the proposed rule in this AHPA Update.

AHPA has released updates via the online Botanical Safety Handbook 2nd ed. to nine additional botanicals.

In this issue of the IADSA Newsflash:  France alerts consumers about food supplements with claims of curing or preventing COVID-19; Israel notifies WTO about revised limits for polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in food supplements; Brazil's new resolution mandating a label when food supplements have a new formulation; Ecuador issues rules for cannabis (hemp seed) supplements; and Peru has established a basic regulation governing health claims applicable to supplement products.

the four leading dietary supplement industry associations applaud Representative Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and Representative Morgan Griffith (R-VA), for introducing bipartisan legislation that would protect public health by providing legal clarity in the cannabidiol (CBD) product marketplace. The Hemp and Hemp derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act of 2020 directs the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use its authority and resources to set a clear regulatory framework for hemp and hemp derived CBD and assure consumer protection.

AHPA continues to expand and update the online Botanical Safety Handbook 2nd ed. to provide the herbal industry with comprehensive safety information on over 500 species of herbs from clinical trials, pharmacological and toxicological studies, medical case reports, and historical texts. New safety information has been added to entries on 11 botanicals.

AHPA joined 16 other trade associations in a Aug. 21 letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to request more time for small businesses to understand and comply with the Agency’s new, wide-ranging nutrition labeling regulations.

Over the last few days, the potential use of oleandrin for treatment of COVID-19 has received significant media attention. The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) strongly discourages sales or marketing of dietary supplements that contain any part of the oleander plant (Nerium oleander) or its constituent, oleandrin. AHPA also urges physical and online retailers to refrain from offering any such products for sale, and AHPA cautions consumers to avoid oral consumption of oleander or oleandrin.