AHPA Updates

The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has recently modernized the Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD), a public repository of dietary supplement labeling information.

AHPA Members are encouraged to participate in the Fall committee meetings and events being held via Zoom, virtually, and in-person October 26 through November 19. The AHPA Staff Contact for each committee will email additional information and reminders to committee members before the meetings.

The August 2021 AHPA Report includes: AHPA Webinar: AHPA Hemp Lexicon Supports Standardized Terminology; AHPA Board of Trustees approves two new guidance resources for the hemp industry; AHPA introduces new entry for rooibos to the online Botanical Safety Handbook 2nd Ed.; USDA APHIS to delay Lacey Act Phase VI enforcement; and more!

AHPA has released a botanical safety assessment of rooibos as a new entry in the Botanical Safety Handbook 2nd Ed. online version.

In comments submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on July 6th, the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) requested revisions to proposed research by the agency on front of package symbols intended to convey the claim “healthy”. In these comments, AHPA requested that FDA expand their research to capture how consumers may respond to the “healthy” symbol in a wider range of package formats, including retail packaged spices and retail packaged tea products.

AHPA has published a revised version of the guidance document titled “Compliance with the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) for Marketers of Chinese Herbal Products” to include the requirements of the recently adopted Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research Act of 2021 (FASTER Act), which adds sesame to the list of major food allergens that require labeling in the United States. The new requirements in the FASTER Act amend the definition of “major food allergen” in FALCPA and take effect on January 1, 2023.

The AHPA Board of Trustees approved two new guidance resources for the hemp industry during its meeting on Tuesday June 29, 2021. The resources are the latest guidance documents developed by AHPA’s Cannabis Committee, which was formed in 2010 to address issues related to the safe use and responsible commerce of legally-marketed products derived from Cannabis species, including products derived from hemp as legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill.

The July 2021 AHPA Report includes:AHPA Webinar: Product Safety Surveillance with webPOISONCONTROL®; AHPA Board announces new Trustee; AHPA Botanical Congress now available on-demand; AHPA Guidance: Federal labeling requirements for herbal dietary supplements; and more!

In a final rule notice published June 25, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service announced the addition of pullulan to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (the National List).