Progress towards standardizing ginseng

During their meeting this month in Seoul, Korea, the Codex Committee for Asia will discuss standards for ginseng products. At issue is whether to regulate several species of ginseng in one global Codex standard or focus on Panax ginseng only.

Why is this important?

Because ginseng is the most commonly purchased herbal supplement in the US.

What is Codex?

Codex was created in 1962 by two UN organizations, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). It’s an international mechanism for promoting the health and economic interests of consumers while encouraging fair international trade in food.

Standardizing supplements is probably the single most important need in CAM.

Entries on ginseng at this blog are listed here. A brief comparison of different forms of ginseng is presented here.

12/2/06 06:23 JR