Natural Newswire

Florida Lawyer Debuts Blog about Nutritional Supplements and the Law

A new legal weblog devoted to litigation and regulation of dietary and nutritional supplements has launched.

Boca Raton, FL, Nov 7. /Natural Newswire/ -- Intellectual property and technology attorney Joel B. Rothman of the law firm of Rutherford Mulhall, P.A. has launched a new informational legal weblog devoted to litigation and regulation of dietary and nutritional supplements. The Nutritional and Dietary Supplement Law Blog is at www.nutrisuplaw.com or www.dietsuplaw.com.

This new legal blog or "blawg" contains news and analysis on a wide variety of legal issues facing producers of vitamins, cosmetics, diet pills, herbal remedies, organic products and foods.

"The nutritional and dietary supplement industry is growing rapidly," says Rothman, "and the variety and complexity of legal issues facing makers of innovative wellness products are multiplying. This new weblog will help industry insiders, in-house counsel, and other interested individuals stay abreast of legal developments effecting the supplement market."

The nutritional supplement industry is highly regulated. Several federal agencies provide oversight including the FDA, FTC, and USDA. States are also beginning to regulate supplement labeling and sales. Manufacturers of supplements need to understand the advertising rules including laws restricting claims about safety and efficacy, ingredient labeling, and good manufacturing standards.

State attorneys general and federal authorities have shown a willingness to prosecute deceptive advertising claims for supplements. Consequently, lawyers for dietary supplement makers need up-to-date information on new regulations and litigation effecting the industry.

Herbs of Commerce, 2nd edition, Becomes Law of the Land for Labeling

Silver Spring, MD, Nov 7. /Natural Newswire/ -- Effective January 1, 2006, AHPA’s Herbs of Commerce, 2nd edition, will be officially incorporated into federal regulations on labeling of botanical ingredients in dietary supplement, when a direct final rule published in 2003 goes into effect.

Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 101.4(h) (21 CFR 101.4(h) requires that the common or usual name of botanical ingredients in dietary supplements be consistent with the names standardized in the second edition of Herbs of Commerce. The rules also allow dietary supplement product labels to omit the Latin binomial of herbal ingredients listed in Herbs of Commerce, 2nd edition, whereas the Latin name is required to identify all other herbal ingredients. In addition, when Latin names are used, they must conform to internationally accepted nomenclature rules, and the 2000 edition of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (St. Louis Code) is identified as an authoritative reference.

AHPA Schedules Allergen Labeling Tele-Seminar

Silver Spring, MD, Nov 1. /Natural Newswire/ -- The upcoming American Herbal Product Association (AHPA) educational tele-seminar will address complying with the requirements of the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004. Any food (including dietary supplements) that contains a major food allergen must meet the disclosure requirements of the new law when labeled on or after January 1, 2006.

The tele-seminar will be held at 12 noon, Eastern, on Friday, December 2. A panel with legal, regulatory, and scientific expertise will discuss:

* The origin and rationale of the new law.
* Compliance deadlines.
* The major food allergens required to be labeled.
* The petition and notification process for exemption from food allergen labeling requirements.
* Proper labeling of major food allergens present in dietary supplements.

A convenient and cost-effective way to explore issues, gain insight and enhance knowledge, the AHPA tele-seminar is a live telephone conference call, limited to just two hours and 30 call lines, but as many staff members as you wish may listen on your speaker phone. To facilitate freedom to raise difficult issues, participants may email questions, which will be read in an anonymous fashion during the Q&A session.

AHPA’s tele-seminars are much less expensive than hiring an attorney or consultant to conduct such training: $195 per connection for AHPA member companies, and $495 per connection for non-member companies. The registration fee includes an unedited transcript of the training session and one Certificate of Completion, an important addition to cGMP compliance training and personnel files; additional certificates are $25 each.

Registration takes place in advance only. Deadline is November 21, 2005.

Register today by faxing the online form (http://www.ahpa.org/05_12_allergen.pdf) to Robin Gellman (fax: 301-588-1174). Once registered, a confirmation email will include all pertinent materials and instructions (including the tele-seminar dial-in number). For more details, contact Robin via email (rgellman@ahpa.org) or phone (301-588-1171, ext. 106)


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The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) is the national trade association and voice of the herbal supplement industry, the only trade association devoted solely to herbal issues. AHPA is the recognized leader in representing the responsible center of the botanical trade, and is comprised of the finest growers, processors, manufacturers and marketers of herbal products. AHPA’s mission is to promote the responsible commerce of herbal products. AHPA committees generate self-regulations to ensure the highest level of responsibility with respect to the way herbs are manufactured, labeled and sold. Website: www.ahpa.org