Comfrey

FDA "would not necessarily object" to comfrey supplements that have had pyrrolizidine alkaloids removed during processing, agency notes in recent letter to AHPA. "We would expect such a product to be completely free of the pyrrolizidine alkaloids and not simply...processed to reduce the quantity of [PAs] present," FDA says. Letter clarifies July 6 notice to eight trade groups urging marketers to recall comfrey-containing supplements due to evidence linking PAs to liver damage (1"The Tan Sheet" July 9, p. 10). However, if a principal substance is removed from a dietary ingredient, a 75-day premarket notification is required, FDA notes. AHPA is seeking data from its members on PA-free analytical methods...