AHPA Alerts

The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) has assessed an article issued today by Consumer Reports (CR) on its analytical review of 16 echinacea and 13 turmeric products. AHPA has found that CR relied on arbitrary or internal standards for its analysis, apparently in order to support its preconceived view of herbal supplements, expressed by repeating in today’s article the false myth of ‘lack of regulation’ of dietary supplements.

FDA announced today that, during the first six months following the general January 1, 2020, compliance date for the new nutrition labeling regulations for conventional foods and dietary supplements, it plans to work cooperatively with manufacturers to meet the new requirements and will not focus on enforcement actions during that time. Note that manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales already had an extra year to comply – until January 1, 2021.

This week, the four leading trade associations representing the U.S. dietary supplement industry joined forces to urge Congress to take action to ensure consumer safety and provide legal clarity in the cannabidiol (CBD) product marketplace. In a letter, the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), and United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA) called on Congress “to pass legislation to clarify that CBD derived from the hemp plant is a lawful dietary ingredient if the dietary supplement containing the CBD meets established product safety and quality criteria.”

Recorded October 29, 2019, this webinar offers expert insights into the nutrition labeling requirements for foods and dietary supplements are scheduled to take effect January 1, 2020 for manufacturers with $10 million or more in annual sales and January 1, 2021 for smaller manufacturers.

AHPA joined 12 leading trade associations to advocate FDA to provide flexibility in its enforcement of the new nutrition labeling rules as the January 1, 2020 compliance date approaches. In a letter to Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless, the associations, acting as the Food & Beverage Issue Alliance, requested FDA to to provide a six-month period of enforcement discretion following the compliance date.

Dr. Rick Kingston, an industry expert with more than 35-years of experience, presents on serious adverse event report (SAER) data and observations. Ashish Talati, a partner with Amin Talati & Wasserman and one of the industry’s foremost experts on FDA regulatory matters, joins Dr. Kingston to review dietary supplement legal and regulatory SAER obligations. In addition, AHPA Chief Information Officer Dr. Merle Zimmermann presents an overview of recent FDA recall data.

AHPA has revised it's labeling guidance for herbal dietary supplements to cover updated nutrition labeling requirements for foods and dietary supplements that are scheduled to take effect January 1, 2020 for manufacturers with $10 million or more in annual sales and January 1, 2021 for smaller manufacturers.

AHPA President Michael McGuffin and Chief Science Officer Holly Johnson, Ph.D. presented at the AOAC International 133rd Annual Meeting and Exposition to help the organization further develop analytical methods for botanicals used in herbal supplements.

Recall data from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shows that 14 of 803 (1.7 percent) recorded recalls initiated in 2019 involved dietary supplements, and among these, three were Class I recalls (the most serious recall class), according to an article published in the August 2019 AHPA Report.