May. 14 – Canada: Bill C-51 – Food And Drugs Act
The Government of Canada has just released a Fact Sheet on Bill C-51:
Bill C-51 will not affect the way that natural health products are regulated in Canada. The Natural Health Products Regulations, introduced in 2004, will continue to operate the same way under the proposed Bill C-51. Bill C-51 has been drafted to complement and support current policies for natural health products.
The Natural Health Products Regulations already recognize that natural health products are different from drugs, and that the evidence requirements for drugs are not appropriate for natural health products. Bill C-51 does not change this. In fact, Bill C-51 supports different requirements for different types of products. Therefore, the standards that are used to assess the risks and benefits of natural health products will continue to incorporate history of use, traditional uses and cultural practices.
The regulated activities for natural health products have already been identified in the Natural Health Products Regulations, and do not change. These regulated activities are: manufacturing, packaging, labelling, importation and distribution of natural health products for sale. Revisions to the list of controlled activities in Bill C-51 are only for cells, tissues and organs.
For more on Bill C-51 click on the above link. The full text of the act can be found here: Food and Drugs Act.