Appalachian Forest Farmer Coalition Partner:
American Herbal Products Association - AHPA

Mission & Vision:
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) is the national trade association and voice of the herbal products industry.

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Founded in 1982, AHPA's mission is to promote the responsible and sustainable commerce of herbal products to ensure that consumers have informed access to a wide variety of safe herbal goods. AHPA’s vision is for high quality herbal products to be readily accessible to and broadly used by consumers.

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AHPA has adopted numerous policies in support of this mission through a process that includes significant input from AHPA members. These policies represent meaningful self-regulation for the herbal products industry.

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Expertise
AHPA has particular expertise on the history, science, and regulation of botanicals while its work also has significant influence on non-herbal dietary supplements. Similarly, AHPA expends its resources on issues in the U.S. marketplace and in the international arena, wherever member interests are served.

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Members
AHPA is comprised of more than 350 domestic and international companies conducting business as growers, processors, manufacturers, and marketers of herbs and herbal products. AHPA members’ herbal products are in tea, beverage, dietary supplement, sports nutrition, personal care, pet and other product categories. AHPA membership also includes individuals, companies and organizations who serve the industry, including consultants, attorneys, media, researchers, educators, and medical professionals.

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Service Area:

 

United States

 

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Featured Programs:

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Resources:

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AHPA develops publications and educational materials to help members create and market high-quality herbal products that conform to all regulatory requirements. 

AHPA Guidance Documents
AHPA produces these guidance documents on specific topics to help the industry comply with applicable laws and regulations and institute best practices that help ensure quality and transparency.

AHPA cGMP SOP Templates
The Dietary Supplement current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) rule (21 CFR part 111) requires supplement manufacturers to establish and follow federally mandated current good manufacturing practices.

Botanical Safety Handbook
This publication is an essential tool for anyone who manufactures, recommends, or uses herbal products. It provides safety information on over 500 species of herbs, derived from data compiled from clinical trials, pharmacological and toxicological studies, medical case reports, and historical texts.

Herbs of Commerce
AHPA's Herbs of Commerce is the standard for all common and scientific plant names used for products containing herbs. The newly published third edition contains entries for over 2,800 separate plant species, over 1,000 botanical synonyms, over 300 Ayurvedic names, and over 700 pinyin names. This publication is a necessity for anyone who writes about plants or manufactures herbal products.

Code of Ethics, Business Practices & Trade Requirements
This Code was adopted by the membership and reflects the ethics of the responsible companies and organizations within the herbal products trade. The Code can be revised by the adoption of trade recommendations.

AHPA Botanical ID Reference Compendium
The AHPA Botanical Identity References Compendium is maintained by AHPA and was developed by AHPA with the support of many individuals and organizations with a common interest in sharing knowledge and resources relevant to accurate identification of herbal materials.

Good Stewardship Brochures
AHPA works with a variety of organizations and state agencies to produce resources on how to harvest many herbs.These brochures includes the following: Oshá, which is also known as Colorado cough root, Porter's lovage, loveroot, bear root, mountain ginseng, nipo, and chuchupate, has a long history of use in the U.S. Southwest. Wild American ginseng is one of the most important of the nontimber forest products collected in the mountains of the Eastern U.S.

AHPA Tonnage Surveys
These reports present the findings of surveys conducted by the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) to quantify annual harvests of certain North American herbs in commerce.

Good Agriculture and Collection Practices
AHPA's Guidance on Good Agricultural and Collection Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices for Botanical Materials provides a template for small and large growers, harvesters, and processors to implement and document best practices.
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Events:

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AHPA hosts and promotes key events that move our industry forward! 

Botanical Congress
The Botanical Congress is one of AHPA's signature events that brings the industry together to discuss, develop, and care for all things botanical.

Regulatory Congress
AHPA’s Congress on Regulatory Priorities in the Natural Products Market will provide guidance to dietary supplement ingredient suppliers, manufacturers, and affiliated firms that understand the impact of regulatory compliance.

Educational Webinars
AHPA webinars bring together subject matter experts to cover a wide range of diverse topics relevant to the herbal product and dietary supplement industries – including regulatory compliance, technical issues, and current events. AHPA’s industry-leading educational programming is designed to meet the evolving needs of members and the industry. 

Technical Workshops
AHPA regularly presents in-person technical workshops to train the herbal products industry on the latest tools and methods that help ensure high-quality products and compliance with federal and state regulations.

Annual Member Meeting
AHPA's Annual Member Meeting allows AHPA members to gather for insightful presentations, the Board of Trustees elections, and the AHPA Awards.

Events Calendar
See all the upcoming events happening at the American Herbal Products Association.

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