AHPA Updates

China announces new health food naming guidelines, European Commission lowers the level of citrinin (a mycotoxin) in food supplements, Belgium limits the intake of curcuminoids with their natural bioavailability to 500 mg of curcuminoids per day, and French authorities caution the intake of supplements containing berberine in this issue of the IADSA Newsflash.

AHPA President Michael McGuffin presented with three other panelists in a session titled, “CBD Market Forecast: Feast or Famine” at the Hemp Industry Daily Forum during the MJBizCon in Las Vegas earlier this week.

Nutritional Outlook named AHPA President Michael McGuffin Industry Leader as part of the publication's 2019 Best of Industry Awards. This year, McGuffin celebrated his 20th anniversary as association president. "Under Michael's tenure—and even before that, when he served on the association’s board of trustees—AHPA has been a leading influence and guiding hand in shaping the safe, responsible, and prosperous herb commerce market that so many consumers rely on today," according to the Nutritional Outlook announcement.

The November 2019 AHPA Report includes new CA Prop 65 Guidance, an overview of USDA's rule for hemp, FDA's revised draft guidance for homeopathics, happy birthday DSHEA, McGuffin keynote at HIACON and much more.

On October 26, 2018, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) listed “nickel (soluble compounds)” as a chemical known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity under Proposition 65. The listing went into effect for soluble nickel compounds on October 26, 2019. Companies need to be aware of the new Prop 65 requirements for certain products that expose consumers to soluble nickel compounds and should refer to the current Proposition 65 requirements to determine the appropriate format and content of any warnings necessary for their products.

U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced almost $600,000 in federal funding for a Virginia Tech project to expand the impact of the Appalachian Beginning Forest Farmer Coalition (ABFFC) by increasing membership and improving opportunities and capabilities among forest farmers.

AHPA has posted this free guidance to help tea and infusion product companies understand, navigate and mitigate liabilities related to California's Proposition 65 (the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986). Since July 2016, numerous companies that sell or manufacture tea and infusion products, primarily marketers of branded finished products, have been the subject of complaints alleging violation of California's Prop 65 for failure to provide the required warnings.

Nominations are now being accepted for the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) 2020 Awards. The awards will be presented at the Annual AHPA Member Meeting and Breakfast on March 4, 2020 at the Natural Products Expo West trade show in Anaheim, CA.

AHPA President Michael McGuffin discussed opportunities and challenges for companies marketing hemp and cannabidiol (CBD) in products labeled as dietary supplements at the 26th Annual Hemp Industries Association Conference (HIACON) held in Charlotte, NC this week.

In comments submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week, AHPA continued to encourage the agency to expand its use of its crop grouping regulations by including more botanical commodities in two proposed new crop groups to help ensure that all of the minor crop botanical commodities marketed in the U.S. are covered by federal regulations.