The marketplace has been flooded with supplements making health claims such as alleviating joint pain or increasing memory, but a Health Canada agency says it lacks the resources to ensure the labels are accurate and backed up by research.

A few years ago, Health Canada established the Natural Health Products Directorate to regulate the industry. The agency told the makers of natural products to apply for licences to make health claims on herbal products.

In a 2005 survey for Health Canada, 71 per cent of adults reported they regularly take vitamins and minerals, herbal products and homeopathic medicines.
(Associated Press file photo)

There are 60,000 natural products on Canadian shelves, according to the Canadian Health Food Association. So far, the directorate has looked at about 10 per cent, a spokesperson for the agency said.

In the meantime, many companies are putting unapproved and sometimes questionable claims on their labels, Robert Rogers, a herbalist in Edmonton, told CBC News on Tuesday.

"If it's not approved, in the end it's not a big deal because profit has already been made over the few years before Ottawa gets around to interpreting whether or not it is a valid claim."

Webber Naturals, one of the few companies that has received approval, has also been told to remove claims that its cold remedy is clinically proven to get rid of colds three times faster.

The company was told to say only that its remedy is traditionally used to fight off colds, flu and infections.

Science did back up the claim, said Bill Bird, a spokesperson for the company.

"We're definitely not flaunting our noses at Health Canada," said Bird, adding the company is "excited" about working with the directorate.

Health Canada said such companies are technically breaking the law by making claims before they are approved.

Given the backlog, the department doesn't have the staff to police the entire natural products industry, said Robin Marles of the directorate.

"That's why we're focusing our efforts on the compliance side on those products that represent the greatest risk to consumers," said Marles. "It's a wise use of resources."

Rogers worries people may lose faith in herbal products, since Health Canada is leaving it to them to figure out which products are useful.