February 4, 2011 – Beyond March 2011, it will still be possible to find on the Canadian market natural health products not approved by Health Canada: the application of part of the regulations has been postponed to an unknown date.
Adopted in 2004, the Natural Health Products Regulations provided that as of January 2010, all products sold in Canada would display an “NPN” number, for Natural Product Number.
However, Health Canada was unable to process all of the license applications within the prescribed timeframes.
In August 2010, the Federal Ministry therefore adopted a “compliance policy” which was due to expire on February 28, 2011. A category of so-called transitional products was then created, ie those that were awaiting approval. These natural products could therefore be sold by displaying the mention “NE”, for Exemption number.
It is therefore from February 28, 2011 that products bearing neither NPN nor NE were to be withdrawn from the market. However, it is this deadline which was postponed to a later date.
No new deadline
According to Quebec herbalist Marie Provost1, it is “dramatic” that the application of the new compliance policy has been postponed without setting a new deadline.
“We must also ask who is behind this postponement, questions Marie Provost. Who benefits from this delay? It was certainly not the small businesses that asked for it. “
However, the herbalist maintains that delaying the implementation of the policy does not mean that there is a lack of control on the part of Health Canada.
How do I know if a product is approved?
Since some products can take a few years to expire, they may have been put on the shelves before being officially approved and therefore receiving an NPN or NE.
To find out if a product has an NPN or NE, you must visit the Health Canada site2-3. “You can also ask the staff of specialized shops,” advises Marie Provost.
Martin LaSalle – PasseportSanté.net
1. Marie Provost represented the Guilde des herboristes du Québec on the Health Canada advisory committee during the development of the regulation on natural health products, which was adopted in 2004.
2. To consult Health Canada’s database of natural health products authorized for sale in the country: www.hc-sc.gc.ca [consulté le 4 février 2011].
3. To consult the list of products exempted by Health Canada: webprod3.hc-sc.gc.ca [consulté le 4 février 2010]
