Implications beyond sports nutrition: State legislation targeting weight loss dietary supplements

• By: AHPA
• On: 01/31/2024 16:00:23
• In: Regulation / Legislation

Robert Marriott of the American Herbal Products Association dissects state bills across the U.S. that he cautioned would impose burdensome restrictions on the dietary supplement industry.
 

Robert Marriott | January 30, 2024

From coast to coast, recent state legislative efforts to place age restrictions on sports nutrition products have intensified under the guise of protecting minors. In practice, however, such legislation would limit access to safe sports nutrition products for all consumers by imposing an inconsistent range of burdensome restrictions on manufacturers, marketers and retailers.

Further, while ostensibly aimed at weight loss and muscle-building dietary supplements, ambiguity in the scope and language of these bills could allow for broader and unwarranted application to unrelated products.

Now, with a bill enacted in New York and others advancing, the challenges presented by this form of age-gating legislation call for the attention of not only the sports nutrition sector but also the wider dietary supplement industry.
 

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Broad Industry Support for Relaunched Dietary Supplement Caucus

• By: AHPA
• On: 01/29/2024 14:34:00
• In: Regulation / Legislation

Congressmen Curtis, Cárdenas Spearhead Effort

January 29, 2024

Five of the major trade associations representing the dietary supplements industry – American Herbal Products Assoc. (AHPA), Consumer Healthcare Products Assoc. (CHPA), the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), Natural Products Assoc. (NPA) and United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA) – today announced their unified support of the re-establishment of the Congressional Dietary Supplement Caucus (CDSC). The caucus’ request for registration as a Congressional Member Organization (CMO) for the 118^th Congress was led by co-chairs Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) and Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.)

The bipartisan group serves as a forum for the exchange of new ideas and information related to dietary supplements and will conduct educational briefings to inform members of Congress and their staff about the evolving legislative and regulatory landscape facing the industry today. More than 30 members of Congress are anticipated to comprise the caucus.

In an official request to the Committee on House Administration, the lawmakers said the reformation of the caucus was “to discuss…the benefits of dietary supplements, provide tips and insights for better health and wellness, and to promote research into the health care savings these products provide.” They added that “the caucus seeks to enhance Congressional attention to the role of supplements in promotion, disease prevention and address the regulation of the supplement industry.”

Some of the issues that may be focused on this year include reform of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), expansion of Flexible Spending Account/Health Savings Account (FSA/HSA) regulations to include supplements as qualified reimbursable expenses, and funding for greater oversight by FDA.

“I am pleased to re-launch this caucus with Representative Cárdenas,” said Rep. Curtis. “The dietary supplements industry is one of the largest industries in Utah and this caucus will serve as an important platform to educate others about the industry and policies that help promote healthy lifestyles.”

 “I am thrilled to reestablish the Congressional Dietary Supplement Caucus in the 118th Congress,” said Congressman Cárdenas. “As Co-Chair, I am eager to foster a space for discussion about the many benefits of dietary supplements, the vital role that suppliers and manufacturers play in broadening nutritional options for consumers, and the importance of meaningful research on these issues. I believe this caucus will allow robust discussion that will culminate into action that betters the wellness of so many across the country.”

AHPA ERB Foundation issues request for grant proposals

• By: AHPA
• On: 01/29/2024 12:47:54
• In: AHPA News

January 29, 2024

 

The American Herbal Product Association Foundation for Education and Research on Botanicals (AHPA ERB Foundation) is issuing a request for proposals to award grant funding to eligible applicants. The AHPA ERB Foundation supports a broad range of projects and efforts in the arena of botanical research and education on medicinal, therapeutic, and health-promoting herbs important to commerce in the United States.
 
Priority consideration for grants will be given to research in one of the following priority project types:

• Type 1: Research of any specific herb or botanical commodity with regard to harvest, collection, or general supply, as well as botanical supply chain factors or trends;

• Type 2: Research regarding applied technologies and methods of analysis, and analytical results particularly of extracts;

• Type 3: Projects designed to identify and disseminate key botanical industry information to stakeholders and consumers.

Proposals must describe how the project will develop new information related to one of the three priority project types, defining clear objectives that this project will specifically address using well defined and sound methodology.
 
Applications should specifically explain what will be done to achieve the project objectives, and how tangible, measurable results will be collected and reported. Applications should describe the outreach plan (i.e., reporting of results) with clear deliverables and realistic expectations for reaching target beneficiaries of the research.
 
Proposals must include a timeline appropriate to the work and proposed outreach, describe applicant familiarity with related work, and include a sensible budget.
 
Applications should describe the key people involved in the project and their relevant experience, including their commitment, expertise, and ability to see the work through to its conclusion.
 
Refer to the AHPA ERB Foundation General Submission Guidelines for Research Grant Proposals for specific instructions on proposal content, organization, and submission. The deadline for submission for this proposal period is June 15, 2024.

Herbs in History: Horsetail & Cinnamon

• By: AHPA
• On: 01/23/2024 05:19:36
• In: AHPA News

Enjoying these herbal history lessons? Don’t forget to share with your network using the buttons at the top of every entry!

January 23, 2024

In an effort to preserve and share the fascinating histories of medicinal plants and herbs that have been used around the world for ages, the AHPA Foundation for Education and Research on Botanicals (AHPA-ERB Foundation) is honored to partner with Alain Touwaide, Ph.D., and Emanuela Appetiti of the Institute for the Preservation of Medical Traditions to launch the Herbs in History project in 2022.

Horsetail and cinnamon are next up in our journey into herbal history. Preview the entries below and visit Herbs in History online to read more.

Horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.)

Archaism
An archaeological vestige of the immemorial times when the plant world was in the making on the Earth—the time of the dinosaurs, if not before—, the genus Equisetum is now ubiquitous, with several species. Its graphic representations in manuscripts through the centuries attest to this strange, almost paradoxical nature. They show a non-plant, with just a simple, vertical stem, almost no leaves, no flowers, fruits or seeds, and a barely visible root. Interestingly enough, this representation of an ancestral type has been preserved with quite a high level of fidelity in the several societies that transmitted the legacy of the past one after the other, from Antiquity to the Renaissance. | Read more...

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum spp.)

The Mystery of Exotism
Widely used today, cinnamon has a long history of discovery, trade, rivalry, and also adulterations that was sometimes shrouded in mystery. Reliable information is provided by Dioscorides in the 1st century CE, who is traditionally considered to have well described cinnamon in his compilation on the natural resources used at that time to prepare medicines, the vast treatise De materia medica. | Read more...

About the Project
Herbs in History is made possible by funding from the AHPA-ERB Foundation, as part of the nonprofit foundation’s mission promote education and research on medicinal, therapeutic, and health-promoting herbs. Tune in monthly for thoughtfully detailed historical accounts of herbs you know and love, and learn more about the origins of medicinal plants that have stood the test of time.

AHPA revises guidance policy for synthesized and artificial cannabinoids, including delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol

• By: AHPA
• On: 01/08/2024 13:23:20
• In: AHPA Publications & Resources

Updated policy issued in response to proliferation of synthesized cannabinoid products

January 8, 2024

AHPA’s Cannabis Committee has revised the AHPA guidance policy on the marketing of synthesized and artificial cannabinoids, including delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8 THC). The primary revision of this guidance policy adds a new provision recommending that delta-8 THC and other synthesized tetrahydrocannabinols (THCs) be sold only in legal channels of trade for adult use cannabis products, and only in compliance with the regulations in jurisdictions that allow those sales.

AHPA’s Hemp Lexicon defines a “synthesized cannabinoid” (which includes synthesized tetrahydrocannabinols) as a cannabinoid produced in a laboratory or by industry using directed synthetic or biosynthetic chemistry, rather than traditional food preparation techniques such as heating or extracting. This new provision is key to strengthening the guidance policy regarding the sale of synthesized cannabinoids that are being produced from hemp biomass and that are likely to produce impairment upon human consumption.

The initial AHPA guidance policy adopted in June 2021 also recommended that products containing synthesized cannabinoids not be labeled as “hemp,” and the policy now encourages the identification of any synthesized cannabinoid ingredient by an accurate common or usual name in product labeling and marketing. The guidance policy also strongly discourages any marketing of artificial cannabinoids; AHPA’s Hemp Lexicon defines an “artificial cannabinoid” as any cannabimimetic compound that interacts with cannabinoid receptors but whose molecular structure is not found in nature.

As with all AHPA guidance policies, AHPA encourages its members and non-member companies to adopt these policies to establish consistent and informed trade practices. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent warning letters to numerous companies marketing delta-8 THC products as unapproved treatments for various medical conditions or other therapeutic uses. Any company marketing products containing delta-8 THC should be aware these products are coming under FDA’s scrutiny. Numerous states have also instituted regulations specific to the marketing of and consumer access to products containing delta-8 THC and other synthesized cannabinoids.