FDA cracks down on Medicinal Plant food additives

During the last two years US consumers have seen an every growing number of foods with added herbals enter the market with a view to boosting sales and enhancing the functionality of such food products. Today the US market for such herb-enhanced foodstuffs has been estimated at more than half a billion dollars.

Now after many months of indecision the FDA has finally cracked down on a number of companies using such herbal additives in foods warning them that few such herbal additives have received GRAS (Generally Recognised As Safe) approval for use in conventional foods. While herbals such as St Johns Wort and Echinacea do not require GRAS approval when used as a dietary supplements the minute they get incorporated into a foodstuff they are termed food additives and hence subject to FDA ingredient safety regulations.

If FDA does manage to ban such products it could have a major adverse affect on the sales of many functional food and drink products such as Cadbury Schweppes "Snapple". Little scientific information exists as to what if any negative herb-food interactions take place. Most commentators indicate that products such as herbal fortified yogurts sell very well with no reported negative side effects. For more information contact http://www.herbalgram.org.