AHPA’s annual congress flies an immunity flag, reflecting unusual times

16-Sep-2021 - Last updated on 16-Sep-2021 at 19:21 GMT

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The American Herbal Products Association has announced a focus on immunity for its annual Congress event that traditionally is scheduled to follow on the Supply Side West trade show in Las Vegas.

The event, which in past years has been called the Botanical Congress, this year has been renamed to reflect its tighter focus. The event, called the Congress on Immune Supplements: Regulatory and Research Strategies, is scheduled for Oct. 29 from 7:30 AM to 3 PM, Pacific time at the Mandalay Bay conferenced center in Las Vegas. As in past years, the event is set for the day after the trade show floor closes.

The event is divided into three parts, the first reflecting the enormous increase in interest for all things immune health-related, with the second looking at legal constraints on how these products can be marketed. The third phase of the event looks at how the knowledge gleaned from traditional medicine systems informs modern product development.

In the first part of the event one session will lay out the impact of the global pandemic on consumers’ buying decisions. Demand for immune health supplements have skyrocketed in the past 18 months and shows no sign of abating.

Another session will look at the strains that has placed on the global supply chain for certain ingredients. It will also delve into the physical difficulties of getting material from point A to point B in a global shipping system that has been thrown into chaos.

The regulatory sessions will look at how companies can legally market these products and what kind of substantiation is needed to support claims. The combined FDA/FTC enforcement action on products making COVID-19-related claims has been unprecedented and warrants attention from firms that don’t want to end up on that list which at last count stood at more than 150 warning letters.

The third part will examine how the knowledge gained from thousands of years of traditional use can be translated into the modern regulatory and scientific paradigm. Sessions will include case studies on Ashwagandha and mushrooms as well as looking in detail at how ideas from sources such as Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, North American Indigenous, and Urban Black Herbalists are still relevant today.

For more information on the event and to register visit the event homepage. The event also has a virtual attendance option.