Canada’s Natural Health Products Regime – An Update

This article first appeared in Update, Issue 3, May/June 2007.
Reprinted with permission of the Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) © 2007.

Canada’s Natural Health Products (NHPs) regime was implemented with the promulgation of the Natural Health Products Regulations (Regulations) on January 1, 2004. NHPs are Canada’s equivalent to dietary supplements in the United States, and include vitamins, minerals and herbs.

NHPs are considered a subset of drugs and were an addition to the scheme under the Canadian Food and Drugs Act, which governs food, drugs, medical devices and cosmetics. Previously, NHPs were not recognized under this legislation and were sold with the tacit approval of Health Canada. The intent behind the regime is to ensure that NHPs available to Canadian consumers were subjected to regulatory scrutiny and proven to be safe. The Natural Health Products Directorate (Directorate) maintains, "Our role is to ensure that Canadians have ready access to natural health products