Natural Health Products

On March 26th, 1999, following acceptance of the recommendations from the Standing Committee on Health, the Minister announced the creation of the Office of Natural Health Products, now the Natural Health Products Directorate (NHPD). The first task assigned to this Directorate was to create an appropriate regulatory framework for natural health products sold in Canada, to ensure that all Canadians have ready access to products that are safe, effective, and of high quality, while respecting freedom of choice and philosophical and cultural diversity. A 17 member Transition Team was appointed by Allan Rock, then Health Minister, to help establish the new directorate and begin the process of developing a regulatory framework for natural health products. Natural health products continued to be regulated either as foods or drugs until the new regulatory framework came into force on January 1st, 2004. The Inspectorate will continue to be the directorate which applies the regulations applicable to natural health products sold in Canada. For more information, please refer to the documents listed in this section.

Compliance and Enforcement Guides and Policies

Additional Information

Information on how to comply with the Natural Health Products Regulations, including forms and guidance documents, is available on the Natural Health Products section of the Health Canada website.

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