July 27, 2000 – Following the adoption by the Canadian Parliament in 1999 of a bill providing for the creation of a Bureau of Natural Health Products (NHPP) in Canada, a transition team tasked with defining the structure and the precise mandate of the BPSN was created. This team provided the Minister of Health of Canada, Mr. Alan Rock, with a final report on which public consultations have begun.
The report provides for a series of measures aimed at giving Canada a world leadership position in the regulation of so-called natural health products. These were defined as follows by the transition team:
” Natural health products (NHPs) are substances or combinations of substances found in nature, as well as energy-boosting preparations, used to maintain or improve health or to treat or prevent diseases or illnesses. disease states.
NHPs include, but are not limited to: homeopathic preparations; vitamins; the minerals; enzymes; coenzymes; cofactors; herbs or medicinal herbs; natural animal, plant and micro-organic substances; as well as a whole range of molecules extracted from natural sources, such as amino acids, polysaccharides, peptides, hormones and natural biochemical intermediates, as well as natural molecules synthesized by chemical or biological means. ”
One of the first recommendations of the transition team is that the legal interpretation of NHPs clearly differentiates them from food and pharmaceutical products. The report also recommends that a regulatory provision clarify reasonable grounds for imports of NHPs for personal consumption, thereby opening the door to the consumption of products not manufactured in Canada.
One of the most forward-thinking recommendations concerns the approval process for products that may be accepted with monographs that may or may not be certified by scientific research, depending on their degree of risk. A public register of all products registered with the BPSN will make it possible to know all the active ingredients, as well as the manufacturer.
The transition team report recommends that there be at least one consumer representative, very knowledgeable about natural health products, on the expert advisory committee dealing with safety, quality and effectiveness of natural health products.
The Transition Team Final Report explicitly mentions that the Bureau of Natural Health Products should act as a “catalyst for change towards a more holistic and proactive health care delivery model in Canada, among other things by working to” increase public awareness of the benefits of prevention, wellness and self-care and to promote lifestyle modification and the benefits of prevention, wellness and self-care, including with young people and in new adult sectors “.
HealthPassport.net
Source: A New Beginning: BPSN Transition Team Final Reporthttp://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpb/onhp/treportfinal_e.html