Comments received will be shared with the expert advisory panel for use in developing options for an appropriate regulatory framework. Consultation with stakeholders on establishment licensing regulations and fees was extensive with a wide variety of stakeholders. Certain herbs are not acceptable as drugs or as ingredients in drugs. If they are encountered at Customs in a form that is likely to be used for those purposes, entry will be refused. Health Canada revises its lists of products presenting health hazards continuously, as additional information regarding the safety and pharmacological action of any herb becomes available.
Consumer safety is the bottom line.
In general, an herbal ingredient is acceptable as a food when it can be consumed as desired without ill effects. In fact, many herbal products are currently sold as food in Canada. Under this definition, herbal remedies and other complementary medicines are quite clearly drugs. Regulation A.01.040 to the Food and Drugs Act prohibits the importation for sale of any drug, the sale of which would be in violation of the provisions of the Act and regulations. Active ingredients which may be restricted are listed in any of the schedules to either the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations or the Narcotic Control Act .