Several health-food store products may no longer be available after Health Canada begins regulating herbs, dietary supplements, natural and traditional medicines on Jan. 1.

Since natural remedies such as ginko are neither drugs nor foods, the products fell into a regulatory void. Federal health officials can only act if a product claims to treat a disease or is shown to be unsafe.

Nutritionist John Biggs in Edmonton sees rough days ahead for natural health products, which will now be controlled by Health Canada. In Canada, the industry's sales add up to $500 million annually.

John Biggs
John Biggs

"Well, the emotion here is certainly one of suspicion," said Biggs. "And also one of confusion."

Last year, Health Canada found it can be difficult to enforce the regulations. Officials ordered retailers to stop selling the herbal sedative kava kava. Many retailers continued to sell the relaxant, defying the order and saying other herbal remedies have potential side effects.




The new regulations set out minimum standards for quality, purity and safety of all natural products. The aim of the regulations is to help consumers make informed choices, according to Dr. Phil Waddington of the Natural Health Products Directorate.

"I see that as a very good thing because at least the companies have to demonstrate that (for) the product they're making, there is evidence that it works for the indication that they want to put on the label," said pharmacology Prof. Heather Boone of the University of Toronto.

The demand for evidence may force some imported products off the market if they can't meet basic tests for safety and effectiveness.

Critics say smaller companies will be forced to go under because they can't afford new labels and testing. Health Canada says it opens the market, even to products previously withdrawn, such as kava kava.

"If we're able to come up with a way the product can be safely marketed then we would definitely review that," said Waddington.

Although the new regulations will be phased in over six years, Biggs says he's already feeling the effects. An American distributor told him it is suspending sales of 60 products, saying it doesn't want to bother with the new costs in Canada.