. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/GBR/4 
14 June 2005 
 (05-2480) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY MEASURES 
 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  UNITED KINGDOM
 
If applicable, name of local government involved:        
2. Agency responsible:  Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland  
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where applicable):  Any food consisting of or containing Piper methysticum  (known also as Kava-
kava) (CN heading 1211 90 98).  
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:  Kava-
kava producing countries e.g.  Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu.  
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:  The Kava-Kava in Food 
Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (Available in English, 3 pages).  
6. Description of content:  Under Articles 15, 25, 26 and 47 of the Food Safety (Northern 
Ireland) Order1991, these pr oposed Regulations will prohib it the sale, possession for sale, 
offer, exposure or advertisement for sale, and the importation into Northern Ireland from 
outside the United Kingdom, of any food consis ting of, or containing, Kava-Kava (being a 
plant or part of a plant, or an extract from such a plant, be longing to the species Piper 
methysticum ). 
Similar Regulations have been made  in England, Scotland and Wales.  
7. Objective and rationale:  [  X ] food safety,  [    ] animal health,  [    ] plant protection,
[   ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease,  [    ] protect territory from 
other damage from pests       
8. Nature of the urgent problem(s) and reasons for urgent action:   
Evidence has emerged that, in rare cases, c onsumption of products containing Kava-kava 
may be associated with liver damage. 
The UK’s Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM ) has reviewed a total of 68 case reports 
of suspected liver toxicity asso ciated with consumption of Kava-kava. The severity of the 
liver damage suffered varies and includes a bnormal liver function, jaundice, hepatitis, liver 
failure and death. In six cases the patients su ffered irreversible liver failure and received 
liver transplants. Three patients died, including one who had received a transplant.  
The CSM advised that there was sufficient evidence to conclude that Kava-kava is 
associated with rare cases of liver toxici ty that may be serious in nature.   
The UK Medicines Control Agency is consulting on a proposed Order that would prohibit 
the use of Kava-kava in unlicensed medicinal products. G/SPS/N/GBR/4 
Page 2  
 
 There are also a number of food products c ontaining Kava-kava on the market in the UK.  
Currently there are no specific controls on the inclusion of Kava-kava in foods.   A number 
of the case reports reviewed by the CSM concerned patients who were consuming food products containing Kava-kava as well as medici nal products containing Kava-kava.  The 
advice from CSM also requires action on food uses of Kava-kava because there is no clear 
understanding of the nature of the hepatotoxici ty, including its mechanism.  Consequently, 
the FSA is proposing to prohibit food uses of Kava-kava. 
The proposed Regulations are considered neces sary to protect consumers against the risk 
that consumption of foods containing or c onsisting of Kava-kava may cause liver damage.  
9. International standard, guideline or recommendation: 
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission,  [   ] World Organization for Animal Health 
(OIE), [   ] International Plant Protection Convention,  [ X ] None If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate 
reference and briefly identify deviations:  None  
10. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  The package of 
consultation documents (consultation letter, dr aft Regulations and draft Regulatory Impact 
Assessment, prepared by FSA London) is ava ilable free of charge from the Food Standards 
Agency NI.  The documents are available in English. 
If the Regulations become law, they will be published on the website of the Stationery 
Office www.hmso.gov.uk . 
11. Date of entry into force/period of application (as applicable):  In Northern Ireland, 
consultation on the proposed Re gulations will be sent to Interested Parties as soon as 
possible. After consideration of comments r eceived, the Food Standards Agency NI will 
make a recommendation to the Under Secretary of State for NI for the Regulations to be made as soon as possible. The date of entry into operation is then likely to be 21 days after 
the Regulations are made. 
The United Kingdom's Medicines Control Agency  has proposed that, for human health 
reasons, the use of Kava-kava in unlicensed medicines should also be prohibited. This 
intention was notified under the TBT Agreement on 21 August 2002.  
Mention is made here for transparency.  
12. Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [   ] National notification 
authority,  [ X ] National enquiry point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:   
13. Texts available from:  [    ] National notification authority, [  X ] National enquiry 
point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body: