10.01.02
Health Canada Issues Stop-Sale Order For Kava-Containing ProductsHealth Canada, Ottawa, Canada, has issued a stop-sale order for all products containing kava after a safety assessment concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support safe use. The department has also requested the recall of these products from all levels of the market. Based on currently available information, the use of kava-containing products is considered to pose an unacceptable potential risk to health, according to the agency, and therefore has required Canadian manufacturers, distributors and importers to stop the sale of kava-containing products, and has requested that these products be recalled from all levels of the market. Health Canada is working to identify all importers, manufacturers and distributors of kava-containing products to monitor the removal of these products. Health Canada will also issue a customs alert to prevent further shipments of these products from entering Canada. The stop-sale order follows a Health Canada advisory issued January 16, 2002, announcing the department’s intention to conduct a safety assessment as a result of worldwide reports of liver toxicity associated with the herbal ingredient. In light of this assessment, Health Canada now considers products containing kava to be drugs and has determined there are no acceptable food uses for kava