AHPA Updates

In this issue of the IADSA Newsflash: China has new rules for food importation and facility registration going into effect on January 1, 2022, with no transition period currently defined; Korea has modified the warning statement for the following functional ingredients: ginseng, red ginseng, chlorella, milk thistle extract, marigold extract, indigestible maltodextrin, and MSM; in the European Union (EU), a ban on the use of titanium dioxide is expected to enter into force in early 2022 with a 6-month transition period to a ban on use of this ingredient in food products; and more!

Presented by AHPA’s Holly E. Johnson, Ph.D., Roy Upton, RH, DipAyu of American Herbal Pharmacopeia, and Steven Yeager of Mountain Rose Herbs, this virtual workshop provided a detailed orientation of botanical, macroscopic, and organoleptic identification methods, quality assessment techniques and terminology, and demonstrated how these techniques are used to evaluate crude plant parts in a scientifically valid manner.

Did you miss the Botanical, Macroscopic and Organoleptic Assessment of Herbal Ingredients for cGMP Compliance workshop but want to attend when it is offered again in the future? Email Natasha Weaver, AHPA’s Director of Education, at nweaver@ahpa.org to be placed on the waitlist and notified when the next workshop is scheduled.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule on November 6, 2020, revising its regulations by adding new Crop Groups 25 (“Herbs”) and 26 (“Spices”).

The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) is issuing its annual call for candidates for elected trustees to the association's Board of Trustees. With the uncertainty of the number and types of in-person events to be held at Expo West in Anaheim, the Board of Trustees has made the decision that the election for the 2022 cycle will again be held in a virtual format during AHPA's annual member meeting, which is currently planned to be held in a hybrid in-person/virtual manner on March 9, 2022. Candidates should be prepared to participate in an online platform where they will have the opportunity to give a short address to the membership.

The December 2021 AHPA Report includes: Call for candidates to AHPA's Board of Trustees, Nominate your colleagues for the 2022 AHPA Awards, 2018-2020 Tonnage Survey; and more!

SILVER SPRING, MD, Dec. 6, 2021 – The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) today announced Melissa Do has joined the association as Director of Communications, reporting to Amber Bennett, Vice President of Marketing & Engagement at AHPA.

At its most recent meeting on October 26, 2021, the Board of Trustees of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) considered several topics of interest to the AHPA membership and consistent with AHPA’s Mission to promote the responsible and sustainable commerce of herbal products to ensure that consumers have informed access to a wide variety of safe herbal goods.

Early this month, Amazon updated its policy for vendors of dietary supplements on the Amazon platform. Amazon has maintained such a policy since at least late 2018, and has amended the policy on several occasions in the interim.

AHPA is now accepting nominations for the 2022 AHPA Awards. The awards will be presented at the Annual AHPA Member Meeting March 9th.