Abstract

Food supplements containing herbs (herbal preparations or 'botanicals') have an innocent image and are often used because of their (supposed) health benefits. Many different herbal preparations are commercially available, amongst others on the Internet. All herbal preparations must meet the safety requirements laid down in the Herbal Preparations Decree under the Dutch Commodities Act (Warenwetbesluit Kruidenpreparaten). However, there is no pre-market assessment of the safety and composition of herbal preparations. Such assessments are only performed if there are indications that a product that is on the market may pose a public health risk. It is often difficult to assess the risks of herbal preparations, because there is little information available concerning the composition of the herbal preparation (for instance, which part of the plant has been used and how the extract has been produced). The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) is currently taking stock of the possibilities for amending (Dutch) legislation on herbal preparations, in order to better ensure the safety of these products. As a first step, an overview has been compiled of current European and national legislation on herbal preparations. This overview was then compared with legislation on other products containing herbs or herbal extracts, such as cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The overview focuses on registration obligations and requirements relating to quality (composition), safety and labelling. This study was commissioned by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Authority (NVWA).