EU guarantees safety of traditional herbal medicines

(BRUSSELS) - From Sunday, the European Union's half a billion people can rest assured that traditional herbal medicines on sale on the shelves are safe and effective, the European Commission said Friday.

May 1 is the deadline for the expiry of a seven-year transition period set by the European Union to register and authorise traditional herbal medicines.

"Patients can now be confident about the traditional herbal medicinal products they buy in the EU," said the commissioner for health John Dalli.

"We have now reached the end of a long transition period which has given producers and importers of traditional herbal medicinal products the necessary time to show that their products have an acceptable level of safety and efficiency."

Under EU rules set in place in 2004, products had to be registered to be authorised for sale, with applicants asked to provide documentation showing products were not harmful.

They also had to show products had a "proven track record" -- that they were used safely for at least 30 years, including half of that period in the EU.

Traditional herbal medicines: more safety 
for products put on EU market