Federal Health Minister Tony Clement says it started with the Vioxx recall in 2004, continued with tainted spinach and carrot juice, and most recently counterfeit toothpaste and dangerous herbal supplements.
“Some natural health products I’ve had to issue warnings about recently include ones that cause liver damage and others increase the risk of cardiac arrest and stroke,” says Clement from Ottawa.
Bill C-51 is an amendment to the Food and Drug Act, which even the government admits is old and out of date.
It gives the Minister of Health sweeping new powers to issue recalls, revoke product licenses and hand out stiff new fines, up to 5 million dollars, for companies that don’t comply.
“Under the current system, I can’t pull these products off store shelves. There’s no recall provision that the Minister of Health can initiate, we have to wait for the supplier to pull it off the shelf. Under the new legislation, I would have the ability to recall the product to protect the health and safety of Canadians.
Bill C-51 covers three areas: food, cosmetics and therapeutic products.
Critics take issue with the therapeutic products category, because they say it lumps together prescription drugs and natural health products or NHP’s.
“The language is the same for NHP’s and drugs, the same regulations apply, the same fines apply and it will be onerous to get market authorizations that apply equally to drugs and NHP’s,” says Ian Stewart, of True Hope Nutritional Support, a company that manufactures a mental health supplement.
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Clement says “therapeutic products” is simply an umbrella term, which also applies to vaccines, cells, tissue and even veterinary products.
He says there’s no provision for drugs and natural health products to be regulated in the same way.
The Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors (CAND) supports safer standards for natural health products, as long as it doesn’t mean taking away proven remedies.
“It’s really important, as naturopathic doctors, that we know what’s in the product, we know it’s safe and what it says on the label is really in there,” says Dr. Patricia Wales.
Clement says the new legislation is aimed at cleaning up the “bad apples” in the bunch, whether it be foods, prescription drugs or natural health products that endanger the health of Canadians.
Over 71 % of Canadians use natural health products to maintain or improve their health.
As the federal government tightens its control of the industry, there’s fear many of those products may be taken away.
Kathleen Stone is a regular at Planet Organic, where she stocks up on her supply of omega-3’s, calcium-magnesium and various cleanses.
“Since I started supplementing with specific vitamins, I do feel more energetic and more alert,” says Stone.
What she likely doesn’t realize is that most of the products on store shelves aren’t authorized by the government to be there.
As of January 2004, natural health products sold in Canada must bear a natural product number, or NPN, on the label. That means it’s been reviewed and approved by Health Canada.
But industry insiders say it’s extremely difficult to pass Health Canada’s scientific requirements, and 60% of products applying for a NPN are rejected.
In it’s current form, Bill C-51 forbids the sale of a product without an NPN and beefs up enforcement powers, including hefty fines up to 5 million dollars.
This could spell disaster for the natural health industry, says Ian Stewart, of True Hope Nutritional Support.
“Once this law comes into power, and they have more enforcement officers, they can pick a product off a store shelf and say this has no NPN, you must remove it or face huge bankrupting fines, most businesses are going to say we have to comply,” says Stewart.
The Minister of Health says he wants Canadians to have access to natural health products, as long as manufacturers can prove they’re safe and effective.
“If a natural health product is closer to a food, or a vitamin supplement, it doesn’t have to jump through as many hoops, as a product that has a much more complex molecular structure and the risks are inherently higher,” says Clement.
Dale Enright, a consultant to the natural health industry, says the new risk-based approval process will mean single ingredient herbs, vitamins and minerals will get the go ahead, but multi-ingredient products, especially those that make health claims, will likely be denied access to the market.
The Canadian Association of Naturopathic doctors is concerned the bill takes away their prescribing power over homeopathic medicines like amino acids, bio-identical hormones and certain botanicals. They fear those products will require a medical doctor’s prescription.
Rallies are being held across the country to try and get the federal government to amend Bill C-51, or create a separate bill entirely for natural health products.
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