AHPA Alerts

Nutritional Outlook named AHPA President Michael McGuffin Industry Leader as part of the publication's 2019 Best of Industry Awards. This year, McGuffin celebrated his 20th anniversary as association president. "Under Michael's tenure—and even before that, when he served on the association’s board of trustees—AHPA has been a leading influence and guiding hand in shaping the safe, responsible, and prosperous herb commerce market that so many consumers rely on today," according to the Nutritional Outlook announcement.

On October 26, 2018, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) listed “nickel (soluble compounds)” as a chemical known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity under Proposition 65. The listing went into effect for soluble nickel compounds on October 26, 2019. Companies need to be aware of the new Prop 65 requirements for certain products that expose consumers to soluble nickel compounds and should refer to the current Proposition 65 requirements to determine the appropriate format and content of any warnings necessary for their products.

AHPA published guidance, “Compliance with the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act for Marketers of Chinese Herbal Products,” to provide members with a summary of Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA) and identify ingredients and preparations found in traditional Chinese herbal ingredients and formulas that may require labeling as major food allergens.

U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced almost $600,000 in federal funding for a Virginia Tech project to expand the impact of the Appalachian Beginning Forest Farmer Coalition (ABFFC) by increasing membership and improving opportunities and capabilities among forest farmers.

AHPA has posted this free guidance to help tea and infusion product companies understand, navigate and mitigate liabilities related to California's Proposition 65 (the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986). Since July 2016, numerous companies that sell or manufacture tea and infusion products, primarily marketers of branded finished products, have been the subject of complaints alleging violation of California's Prop 65 for failure to provide the required warnings.

AHPA President Michael McGuffin discussed opportunities and challenges for companies marketing hemp and cannabidiol (CBD) in products labeled as dietary supplements at the 26th Annual Hemp Industries Association Conference (HIACON) held in Charlotte, NC this week.

In comments submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week, AHPA continued to encourage the agency to expand its use of its crop grouping regulations by including more botanical commodities in two proposed new crop groups to help ensure that all of the minor crop botanical commodities marketed in the U.S. are covered by federal regulations.

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.