A question for the Canadians

[Guest guest]

I received some information from a friend quoting from a booklet: Current

Proposed Definition of Natural Health Products and Companion Definitions. It is

proposed that natural health products be defined in regulation as: Products

manufactured, sold or represented for use in:

a) the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or prevention of a disease, disorder,

or abnormal physical state or its symptoms in humans

restoring or correcting organic functions, or

c) maintaining or promoting health or otherwise modifying organic function

in humans

Specifically, medicinal ingredients of natural health products are those set out

below, alone or in combination:

a) a herb set out in Table 1 (to be developed)

a homeopathic preparation

c) a substance or substances used as traditional medicine, including, but not

limited to, a substance used as a traditional Chinese medicine, a traditional

Ayurvedic medicine or a North American aboriginal medicine, and

d) a mineral or trace element, a vitamin, an amino acid, an essential fatty

acid or other botanical animal or micro-organism derived substance.

It is proposed that the below companion definitions be set out in regulation.

" antibiotoc " means any substance or combination of substances prepared from

certain micro-organisms, or which formerally was prepared from micro-organisms

but is now made synthetically and which possesses inhibitory action on the

growth of other micro-organisms

" botanical, animal or micro-organism derived substance " includes whole

organisms, concentrates or isolates. An isolate is obtained in such a manner

that its primary molecular structure is unaltered from that found in the

original material. An isolate of defined molecular structure may be produced

synthetically.

" botanical " means a whole plant or plant materials, algea, macroscopic fungi and

combinations thereof.

www.vieactiveautravail.com/hpb/onhp/Phase2_3.html [the site is in english, there

are 2 booklets on this site)

When checking the Health Canada Cosmetics site & Canadian Cosmetic Toiletry &

Fragrance Assoc. sites today I noticed a Spring Regulatory Workshop on the cctfa

site www.cctfa.ca.springreg that states Health Canada's Hiugh , Head of the

Cosmetics Program will be updating delegates on Important Health Canada issues

including recent INCI developments and the status of the new Cosmetic

Regulations.

As most of us use botanicals, i.e. essential oils in our products, and also sell

them separately, is this any cause for concern? Or, are we exempt if we follow

the guidelines as set out in the Guidelines for Cosmetic Advertising & Labelling

Claims www.adstandards.com ?

Pat in Ottawa