September 9th, 2008
An annoucement from Health Canada:
The Licensed Natural Health Products Database will allow Canadians to quickly and easily search for more detailed information on natural health products that have been authorized for sale in Canada…
Canadians will be able to use the database to search for information on approved natural health products including authorized health claims and recommended uses, risk information such as warnings and cautions, and medicinal ingredients associated with the product. It will be updated regularly as more products are licensed.
The database will also help practitioners, pharmacists and Canadians determine which products have been assessed by Health Canada and have found to be safe, effective and of high quality under their recommended conditions of use.
Canadians are also reminded that natural health products that have been authorized for sale are issued a Natural Health Product Number (NPN) or Homeopathic Medicine Number (DIN-HM), which appears on the product’s packaging.
The Licensed Natural Health Products Database is available on the Health Canada Web site.
Click on the above link for more information or go directly to the database.
Posted in Canada, Health Canada, Natural Health Products | No Comments »
August 29th, 2008
From Canada’s Natural Health Products Directorate - four monographs:
Click on the links for more information.
Posted in Canada, Health Canada, Natural Health Products | No Comments »
July 31st, 2008
Five new monographs have appeared in July. From Drugs and Health Products:
Posted in Canada, Health Canada, Natural Health Products | No Comments »
June 30th, 2008
An important notice (their words) from the NHPD:
The Natural Health Products Directorate (NHPD) has adopted a new approach to the review of compendial Product Licence Applications (PLAs). Effective June 24, 2008, Information Request Notices (IRNs) will no longer be issued for deficient compendial PLAs. The information provided in the PLA and proposed label text must correspond in full to that which is outlined in the monograph or the PLA will be refused. Applications corresponding in full to the monograph will proceed directly to licensing.
This new compendial review approach will apply only to compendial PLAs received after the effective date of June 24, 2008. Compendial PLAs received prior to June 24, 2008 will continue to be reviewed as per the previous review approach and IRNs will be issued if deficiencies are identified.
The adoption of this new approach will not impact the NHPD’s ability to process Compendial PLAs within the 60-day timeframe mandated by Section 6 of the Natural Health Products Regulations. Rather, it will enable the NHPD to maintain (if not increase) its high performance standard for Compendial PLAs. Furthermore, looking ahead to the future, this new method will help accustom applicants with the way Compendial PLAs will be reviewed and licensed once the NHPD’s Online Solution is implemented.
Click on the above link for more details.
Posted in Canada, Health Canada, Natural Health Products | No Comments »
June 26th, 2008
The new environmental guidelines we mentioned earlier in the week have been released. A press release from the competition bureau states:
Environmental Claims: A Guide for Industry and Advertisers addresses a number of commonly used green claims and provides examples of best practices on how such claims can be used by businesses to comply with the false or misleading provisions of the laws enforced by the Competition Bureau. Among other practices, the Guide states that:
- The use of vague claims implying general environmental improvement are insufficient and should be avoided.
- Environmental claims should be clear, specific, accurate and not misleading.
- Environmental claims should be verified and substantiated, prior to being made.
…The Bureau recognizes companies may wish to reassess their advertising and labelling in light of the Guide. A one-year transition phase will allow legitimate businesses to change their marketing practices, if necessary, and will also allow the Bureau and CSA to raise awareness and understanding on the new environmental guidelines.
During this one-year transition period, the Bureau will not hesitate to pursue egregious cases of deceptive environmental claims.
Although the Guide is not law, following the best practices outlined will help businesses to avoid making misleading claims that contravene the laws enforced by the Bureau. The Guide will be used by the Bureau to assess environmental advertising that raise concerns under its legislative mandate.
Click on the above link for the full press release.
We highly encourage our colleagues and clients to ensure that their labels comply with the guidelines. A PDF copy of the guidlines is available here (PDF).
Posted in Canada, Consumer Labeling, Cosmetics Labeling, Food Labeling, Drug Labeling, Pesticide Labeling, Natural Health Products | No Comments »
June 24th, 2008
First of all, we would like to welcome you to our newly re-designed news site. We hope that you find it easier to navigate than the previous version of Regulatory News by Nexreg Compliance. The site has not been tested against every possible browser and resolution combination. If you find any display errors, we would appreciate it if you let us know by e-mail at info@nexreg.com
In other news, Nexreg Compliance is introducing three free regulatory compliance newsletters. The two-page newsletters summarize major chemical compliance news and will be released bi-monthly. The three newsletters are as follows:
- Canadian Regulatory Compliance News
- U.S. Regulatory Compliance News
- Global Regulatory Compliance News (covering GHS, REACH, etc.)
The first issue of the Canadian newsletter has just been released. If you wish to receive copies of one or all over the newsletters sent by mail or by e-mail (as a PDF file), please send your contact information to info@nexreg.com.
Posted in United States, Canada, E.U., Nexreg, Consumer Labeling, Cosmetics Labeling, Food Labeling, Drug Labeling, REACH, Pesticide Labeling, Natural Health Products, GHS, MSDS, Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Regulations | No Comments »
June 22nd, 2008
The NHPPA an organization which opposes both Bill C-51 and Bill C-52 has a detailed analysis of Bill C-52. The analysis is from the perspective of a group that opposes the bill (so that should be kept in mind), but it is by far the most detailed analysis of the details of the bill we have seen.
The analysis is available here.
Posted in Canada, Health Canada, Consumer Labeling, Cosmetics Labeling, Natural Health Products, Canada Consumer Product Safety Act | No Comments »
June 16th, 2008
It appears that major revisions will be made to Bill C-51: Food and Drugs Act. An article from the Vancouver Sun explains:
In a surprising about-face, Health Minister Tony Clement has agreed to key demands of the natural health products industry after the sector launched a grassroots campaign against restrictions on homeopathic medicines and herbal remedies in new legislation.
When Clement proposed amendments to the Food and Drugs Act in April, natural medicines were lumped in with pharmaceutical drugs, raising concerns they would be subject to the same type of oversight. He now admits it was a mistake not to create a separate category under the law…
The government is now proposing to insert a definition of natural health products into the Food and Drugs Act to “clearly recognize” that they’re distinct from foods and drugs under the law…
And as a lower-risk product than prescription drugs, the government is proposing other changes to make it clear natural medicines will follow a different process to get to market. The new amendments make explicit mention that traditional knowledge and history of use can be considered for obtaining authorization to sell a natural health product.
For more information, click on the above links.
We will be posting updates to the site as soon as they become available. Thank you to reader JC for bringing this article to our attention.
Posted in Canada, Health Canada, Food Labeling, Natural Health Products | No Comments »
June 16th, 2008
From the NHPD - newly updated monographs:
More information can be found on the above links.
Posted in Health Canada, Natural Health Products | No Comments »