Kava Council Seeks to Reverse EU Kava Bans

Kava Council Seeks to Reverse EU Kava Bans

BERLINRepresentatives from theInternational Kava Executive Council (IKEC) and the Germany Health Ministry methere in early April to discuss the requirements necessary to lift Germanyssales ban of kava products. According to Joerg Gruenwald, executive director ofthe IKEC, the discussions centered on the need for further research on kavassafety and efficacy.

IKEC members will work with independent experts in thepharmacology field as well as representatives from the German Health Ministry todetermine an appropriate design for generating new safety data. The goal is toreconvene within six months to revisit the safety of kava. We finally havethe opportunity to prove the safety of kava conclusively, Gruenwald said.

IKEC reps also met with members of the U.K. Medicines andHealthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in early April. Gruenwald said theMHRA was interested in the upcoming research and would consider furtherdiscussions regarding the sale of kava in the United Kingdom when the data wasavailable.

Sales of kava were banned in several countries in 2002, aftercase studies linked kava intake with reported hepatotoxicity. Countriesincluding Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada and Switzerland stopped sales ofkava after reviewing the case studies, although many scientific organizationsquestioned the severe measure. In the United States, the Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) issued a consumer advisory on kava intake, noting it iscontraindicated for people with liver problems or heavy alcohol users.