. Did Health Canada examine the possibility of regulating NHPs as a distinct category separate from both food and drugs?
Under the Food and Drugs Act, NHPs must be classified as either a food or a drug since there is no other category in which to classify them. Because NHPs are taken for therapeutic reasons and not for caloric purposes or to address hunger, they are more similar to drugs than foods. Under current regulations (Food and Drug Regulations) foods can make only limited, diet-related or nutritional content claims (and not treatment claims, for example). As well, the current regulations do not include a complete good manufacturing practices framework which is needed to ensure quality and safety of NHPs; and foods are not subject to pre-market review and assessment by HC before they can be sold (there are a few exceptions, e.g., “novel foods”). During consultations on NHPs, consumers have consistently requested a system of Good Manufacting Practices, to ensure what is on the label is in the bottle, and pre-market assessment of health claims. While creating another category distinct from both food
