The CITES Certificate: One Key to Finding Pure Hoodia Gordonii
If you are in the market for hoodia diet pills, you have probably heard about CITES certificates. CITES certificates can help you locate pure hoodia gordonii products and steer you away from products that don’t use pure hoodia. I often wonder how many consumers really understand what CITES certificates are all about and what they represent in the hoodia market. I hope this article will shed some light on the topic for you.
The hoodia gordonii plant is a protected plant that is in high demand. This cactus looking plant used to only grow in the wilds of South Africa. However, the increased demand for the plant, because of its weight loss properties, has prompted many people to begin farming the plant. This led South Africa to put regulations on the plant. Regulations that not only would protect the plant, but the San people who claim it as their native plant. There are controls in place that now regulate the growing, harvesting and exportation of the hoodia gordonii plant.
CITES certificates are one of the basic controls put in place to protect the endangered hoodia plant. There are other documents that are required as well, but for the purposes of this article I’ll only address the CITES certificate. CITES refers to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and is an international agreement between governments. Their goal is to ensure that international trade does not threaten the survival of endangered species.
In order for a company to legally export hoodia gordonii from South Africa, an export permit from CITES must be obtained. Every shipment exported from South Africa must be accompanied by a CITES permit. These permits expire in six months, but the expiration period only pertains to the actual shipment of hoodia gordonii out of South Africa. In other words, a supplier has six months from the time they are issued a CITES permit to actually ship the hoodia gordonii out of South Africa. If they don’t and the shipment of hoodia sits in the port, the supplier must reapply for a new permit.
A lot of people are confused about the dates on these CITES permits. Some people think if they are viewing a CITES permit and the date is old, this automatically means something underhanded or shady is going on with a company. All it really means is the expiration date for exportation has passed.
When someone exports hoodia gordonii from South Africa, the original CITES permit stays with the inventory until it is gone. If a supplier exports thousands of kilograms of hoodia on one permit, they may not sell out of it for months and months. Yes, the date on the CITES permit will be expired, but the permit itself is still valid and proves the hoodia gordonii is legal and authentic. Just because a CITES permit may have expired doesn’t mean the plant that is being used is a fake, or that shady practices are involved in the business.
Another point to keep in mind is that the company or supplier shown on a CITES certificate doesn’t always match the name of the company selling the actual end product. For example, you may be interested in buying a hoodia supplement from “Helen’s Health Company” so you go to their website and you view their CITES certificate. Everything checks out except you notice the supplier shown on the permit is a company called, “Supplier Incorporated.” Shouldn’t the company listed on the permit be Helen’s Health Company? Not always.
Supplement companies get their hoodia from supply companies. Suppliers are the companies that actually go in, obtain the CITES permits and export the hoodia gordonii out of South Africa. The country is selective on giving out CITES permits and they limit the number of exports. It only makes sense that supplement companies would use a supplier to obtain their hoodia gordonii. That is why you may see a name other that the company you are purchasing your products from listed on the CITES permit.
It’s important that you understand that just because a website display a CITES certificate isn’t a guarantee that the company is packaging pure hoodia gordonii into their products. As you probably know, there are no regulations on supplements, so companies can make claims about their products, even if they may not be true.
That is not always true. Keep in mind that the only thing a CITES permit proves is that a supplier was given the right to export “X amount” of hoodia gordonii from South Africa. Once the supply is exported, the supplier and any company purchasing hoodia from the supplier can do what they want with the hoodia gordonii. A company may claim they are selling a hoodia diet pill that contains 500mg of authentic hoodia gordonii, and while they may have a CITES certificate for the supply they purchased, they may not use a full 500mg in each capsule! They may only use 250mg or 150mg or whatever may be the case.
I hope you now understand the importance of CITES certificates. Understanding what they are, and what they aren’t, should help you when you go to purchase pure hoodia gordonii.
Tags: Diet
Filed under: Diet
