AHPA Alerts

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.

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.

The U.S. dietary supplement industry is aware of the growing concern regarding the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and of the public’s desire to protect itself against the virus. The four leading trade associations representing the dietary supplement industry support the responsible sale and use of vitamins, minerals, herbs and other dietary supplements that provide many positive benefits promoting better health and wellness. However, we are concerned that some marketers of dietary supplements or other products may be promoting them with claims of prevention or treatment of Coronavirus.

In comments submitted to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), AHPA requested numerous, significant revisions to the Interim Final Rule (IFR) that establishes a domestic hemp production program before a Final Rule is promulgated in 2021.

A partial trade agreement signed by the United States and China on January 15, 2020, will reduce U.S.-imposed tariffs on some imported Chinese goods used by U.S. dietary supplement and food companies, but it will leave tariffs on other commodities in place, at least for the short term.

China announces new health food naming guidelines, European Commission lowers the level of citrinin (a mycotoxin) in food supplements, Belgium limits the intake of curcuminoids with their natural bioavailability to 500 mg of curcuminoids per day, and French authorities caution the intake of supplements containing berberine in this issue of the IADSA Newsflash.

AHPA President Michael McGuffin presented with three other panelists in a session titled, “CBD Market Forecast: Feast or Famine” at the Hemp Industry Daily Forum during the MJBizCon in Las Vegas earlier this week.