Advice to Chinese herbal medicine shops
(for England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
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Many traditional Chinese herbal products are on the borderline between medicines and other product categories such as foods or cosmetics. As different legal requirements apply to medicines, foods or cosmetics, it is important that you are clear about the category into which your products fall. The legal requirements governing these products are enforced mainly by trading standards, and by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
There are certain requirements for herbal remedies which are classed as ‘medicines’ and must be safe. You may also be selling food items, cosmetic products, or animal products which all have specific legal requirements. Anything eaten or taken as a drink, that is not a medicinal product, is a food. A cosmetic product is any substance, or preparation, that is intended to come into direct contact with the skin, hair, nails, lips or teeth, or external genital organs, and whose purpose is to clean, perfume, protect, change their appearance, keep them in good condition or correct body odour.
Products of animal origin include all types of meat and meat products (including poultry), all types of fish and shellfish and products made from them (like oyster sauce), eggs and egg products, wild game, honey and dairy products.
There are further requirements in relation to claims made about the product, quantity markings, pricing, business names, and consumer rights.
