Natural Health Products Regulations

To Whom Does This Apply?

Summary

Under the Regulations, NHPs are defined as:

• vitamins and minerals;
• herbal remedies;
• homeopathic medicines;
• traditional medicines such as traditional Chinese medicines;
• probiotics, and
• other products like amino acids and essential fatty acids.

NHPs must be safe for consideration as over-the-counter products, be available for self-care and self-selection and not require a prescription to be sold. Products requiring a prescription will continue to be regulated under the Food and Drug Regulations.

In order to market natural health products in Canada, the Regulations first require you to obtain the necessary product and site licences. A product licence is obtained by demonstrating that your product is safe, effective, and of high quality. A site licence is obtained by demonstrating that the manufacturing, packaging, labelling and importation of your product are done in accordance with good manufacturing practices.

DISCLAIMER
Information contained in this section is of a general nature only and is not intended to constitute advice for any specific fact situation. For particular questions, the users are invited to contact their lawyer. For additional information, see contact(s) listed below.

Ontario Contact(s):
See National Contact.