Health Canada is planning to drastically revamp the regulation of natural health products. This will allow the organization to address concerns over misleading and unproven claims on product labels.
Under this proposed system, Health Canada would group natural health products, cosmetics and over-the-counter drugs together, regulating them based on their potential health risks.
In this system, many vitamins, homeopathic products and cosmetics would be classified as “low risk,” meaning that they would not be licensed by Health Canada. With this, manufacturers would still have to meet Health Canada’s quality standards, but would be prohibited from making disease prevention claims on product labels.
“Moderate” or “high” risk products, like over-the-counter painkillers and allergy medications, would be reviewed by Health Canada. Additionally, these products could only make health claims based on scientifically proven grounds.
Health Canada also announced that it might adopt new powers to issue mandatory recalls of natural health products that are found to be unsafe. Moreover, the department may impose user fees on companies that want to sell natural health products and cosmetics.
Given these suggestions, natural health and cosmetic retailers must be prepared to make any necessary changes to their labels. For any concerns about this matter, contact Health Canada directly at 1-866-337-7705.
