Some medicinal herb growers say new regulations on their industry may destroy their businesses and result in less choice for consumers.

The federal government announced new guidelines for the industry in December, making Canada the first country in the world to regulate natural health products.

The regulations would put more than 25,000 products under the authority of the health department's Natural Health Products Directorate.




The products under scrutiny include vitamins, minerals, traditional medicines, and botanicals. Popular natural remedies such as St. John's Wort, used to treat depression, and Echinacea, used to ward off colds, will come under the microscope.

Marie Provost of Quebec has been growing and processing medicinal herbs for 25 years. She employs 20 people. Provost fears the new rules may become overwhelming.

"This is the phytopharmaceutical model. The model where the structure of the regulations is so heavy and so restrained, you need large volumes to do this."

Provost says the only businesses that can comply will be large agri-food manufacturers, resulting in less choice for the consumer.

Kyra Paterson with the Natural Health Products Directorate says the industry has time to make suggestions. The regulations won't come into effect until the summer or fall and then the industry has two years to comply.

Manufacturers will have to do two things: change their production processes to meet certain standards and change its labels.

The labels should tell consumers:

  • what the product will do
  • how much they need to take
  • what they should avoid while taking the remedy

Paterson says rules are needed to make sure toxicity levels are low enough for human consumption.

"It has to have a wide margin of safety or it will not be a natural health product."