According to NHPD Regulations (2004), all natural health products must be licensed before they can be legally sold in Canada. To obtain a product license, the company with legal responsibility for the product in Canada must submit detailed product information to the Natural Health Product Directorate (NHPD) including medicinal ingredients, source, potency, non-medicinal ingredients and recommended use. Once a product has been assessed and granted market authorization by NHPD, the product label will bear an eight digit product license number preceded by NPN (for natural health products) or DIN-HM (for homeopathic medicines). This number on the label tells consumers that the product has been reviewed and approved by Health Canada for safety, efficacy and quality.

NHPD has set a deadline of January 1, 2010 for companies to achieve compliance with product licensing. Unlicensed products will be removed from the market. Product licensing is vital to maintain product sales.

Imperia has staff with the experience and expertise to assist NHP manufacturers, distributors and importers with their product license requirements. For further information, please contact us.