Consultation: Proposed regulations amending the Natural Health Products Regulations - Improving labelling for natural health products: Closed consultation

Health Canada is committed to the health and safety of Canadians. Clear and legible labelling is a key component in communicating important information about the safe and proper use of natural health products, enabling Canadians to make an informed choice.

A recent audit by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) found that product label information, such as safety warnings, is difficult to read without magnification, which may lead to incorrect product use. This finding confirms that natural health product labels are hard to read, and supports the importance of this proposal.

The purpose of this consultation was to gather feedback on proposed improvements to natural health product labelling.

Who was the focus of this consultation

We engaged with:

• general public
• business owners
• academic experts
• health professionals and associations
• industry and regulatory associations
• consumers of natural health products
• consumer and patient safety organizations

Key questions for comment

We want to amend the Natural Health Products Regulations to ensure that label information is clear, consistent and legible for consumers. This would align rules for natural health product labelling with the rules in international jurisdictions, such as the United States, the European Union, and Australia.

The proposed changes include:

• modernized contact information   
• clearly and prominently displayed label text
• clear labelling of food allergens, gluten and aspartame
• introduction of a product facts table to ensure that key information is shown in a standardized format

We wanted to gather feedback on the proposed Labelling Requirements for Natural Health Products guidance document. The guidance would further explain requirements for industry, including:

• labelling requirements outlined in the proposed amendments to the Natural Health Product Regulations, in plain language and with additional information for clarity
• the introduction of a front-of-pack disclaimer on homeopathic products to inform consumers that these products are based on traditional homeopathic references and not modern science.

Lastly, we asked for feedback on a consultation document on the introduction of risk-based evidence standards for homeopathic products, which would align the evidence standards for these products with those of other natural health products.

Ideas and inputs were sought around 3 themes/topics:

• The proposed amendments to the Natural Health Product Regulations
• The proposed Labelling Requirements for Natural Health Products guidance document
• A consultation document on the introduction of risk-based evidence standards for homeopathic products

The input that was gathered through this process will be used to consider changes to the draft regulations and draft guidance.

Contact us

Bureau of Program Policy, Risk Management and Stakeholder Engagement,
Natural and Non-prescription Health Products Directorate, HPFB, Health Canada
Email: hc.nnhpd.consultation-dpsnso.sc@canada.ca