Making and selling herbal products

[Guest guest]

This must've been discussed before, I'm certain, but

I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on the

legalities of selling tinctures and herbal beauty

products (like lotions, oils and salves). I'd like to

give it a go, but want to make sure I don't get

*yelled* at for doing so;)

 

Thanks so much...

Erica

 

 

 

 

Health - Feel better, live better

http://health.

[Guest guest]

Dear Erica,

 

To date, it is still legal here in the US to start up your own business and to go for the gusto so to speak ;o) At this time the herb which is causing the most problems for herbal companies is Comfrey, and you can rest assured that if you promote products which contain Comfrey you'll be hit even though there are no "laws" yet which state it is illegal. The problem the FDA and the pharmaceuticals have with this, is that the stuff will grow in just about ever state there is and they'd have to nuke 3/4's of America to stop us from using it. I think it is a great idea for you to start up your own company and produce your own products and I wish you all the best. The more independent Herbal Manufacturing businesses out there, the better I like it and the better chance we all have of winning out against the multinational pbarmaceuticals.

 

The worst of these is the Rockefeller / IG Farben conglomerate.

 

So, getting a bunch of little guys going is the way to go here. The more - the merrier ;o)

 

I wouldn't worry about getting "yelled at" if I were you (unless you advertise on this list ;o), and you should just go for it.

 

Love,

 

Doc

 

PS. When my book is fully completed (hopefully ready for the publisher by Dec), it'll have a full section in it on how to start your own herbal manufacturing business, recipes, tools to use, etc.

 

Dr. Ian Shillington505-772-5889Dr.IanShillington

 

-

erica feldman

herbal remedies

Sunday, August 04, 2002 9:21 AM

[herbal remedies] Making and selling herbal products

This must've been discussed before, I'm certain, but I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on the legalities of selling tinctures and herbal beauty products (like lotions, oils and salves). I'd like to give it a go, but want to make sure I don't get*yelled* at for doing so;)Thanks so much...Erica

[Guest guest]

At the moment the legal situation is a little unclear. If your product ever

crosses a state line, you're definitely under Federal regulation. That

means, if you're making any medical claims at all, you must register with

and get approval from the FDA -- a process that mostly only the largest

pharmaceutical companies can afford. A lot depends on what's on the label.

Sometimes the name of a product has been construed as being a medical claim

in itself, such as " Liver Detox Potion " .

 

If your products are only sold within one state, the question of being under

Federal laws is being worked out at this time. As a matter of courtesy, if

nothing else, you should put the ingredients on the label. Many states

require this anyway.

 

A few states, especially Pennsylvania, California, and Wisconsin, have

tighter laws which must be checked out.

 

There are a few herbs which are not supposed to be included in anything, but

sometimes are anyway. Among those are Sassafras and Chaparral. There are

regulations against these which are currently not being heavily enforced.

But they could be at any time.

 

One of the odd things about being in the herbal products business is that

you can go for a long time without any problems at all, and then suddenly be

closed down for something you had no idea about. Then, you don't usually

end up in the standard legal process, since you're dealing with agency (FDA

or sometimes FTC) regulations. Instead they put you through a maze of

administrative hearings, which are not a form of due process as specified in

the Constitution. Theoretically you could break out of this by demanding to

have charges leveled against you. Of course, in those cases you end up

taking a much greater risk. What's preferable, the risk of jail time, or

being eaten away by endless piddly hearings and actions?

 

Too often when an action starts, the first notice you get is that a bunch of

goons come down and confiscate whatever product they want to. Sometimes

they don't even say why it's happening at the time. I've known of cases

where company owners had to hire lawyers just to find out who had taken

their stuff. They also can and often do take your file cabinets and

computers, which makes it very difficult to continue in business. Most

companies these days have taken to making secret off site backups, sometimes

stored out on the Internet.

 

The laws pertaining to herbal preparations are such that if someone wants to

get you, they will. There are few clear-cut standards right now. Most

companies do all right, and have few problems, but you just never know when

or why the Feds will come down on you. In certain states, you also have the

risk of state agencies doing the same thing. That's mostly in California

and New York. I haven't heard of problems from state agencies anywhere else.

 

At 08:21 AM 8/4/02 -0700, you wrote:

>This must've been discussed before, I'm certain, but

>I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on the

>legalities of selling tinctures and herbal beauty

>products (like lotions, oils and salves). I'd like to

>give it a go, but want to make sure I don't get

>*yelled* at for doing so;)

>

>Thanks so much...

>Erica

>

>

-- Michael Riversong **

Professional Harpist, Educator, and Writer **

RivEdu ** Phone: (307)635-0900 FAX (413)691-0399

http://home.earthlink.net/~rivedu -- Educational Site