How to check a natural health product's NPN with Health Canada

What an NPN is

NPN stands for Natural Product Number. Health Canada assigns this eight-digit number when it licenses a natural health product, and the number has to appear on the label. Homeopathic medicines get a different one, a DIN-HM.

Health Canada says an NPN or DIN-HM on a label means the product has been authorized for sale in Canada, and that it is safe and effective when used according to the instructions on the label. That is Health Canada's statement about its own licences, not ours about any product.

How to check one, step by step

1. Find the number on the label. It is printed as NPN followed by eight digits.

2. Open Health Canada's Licensed Natural Health Products Database, at health-products.canada.ca/lnhpd-bdpsnh.

3. Search by product number and enter the eight digits.

4. Open the record and read four things: the product name and licence holder, the licence status, the dose, and the licensed ingredients with their amounts.

5. Compare them with the bottle in your hand. The name, the dose and the ingredients should match.

Reading the status

The record shows one of five licence statuses: active, discontinued, stop sale, cancelled or suspended. Health Canada notes that where a licence is suspended, cancelled or under stop sale, the product cannot legally be sold in Canada.

There is a second field, market status, which says marketed or not marketed. It is easy to misread. Health Canada explains that reporting it is voluntary, so not marketed is simply the default when the licence holder has not told it otherwise, and a product shown as not marketed may still be on sale.

A worked example: the Day & Night Drops

Partner.Co Canada sells the Slenderiiz Day & Night Drops as two bottles, and each has its own licence.

The Day Drops carry NPN 80135370. The record gives a dose of 0.7 mL three times a day for adults 19 and over, and lists caffeine, biotin, green tea, chromium, cinnamon, guarana and white kidney bean, each with its amount.

The Night Drops carry NPN 80139445. The record gives 2 mL once a day for adults 19 and over, and lists L-theanine, acerola, cordyceps and holy basil.

Both carry an NPN rather than a DIN-HM, so neither is licensed as a homeopathic medicine. That is one way the Canadian drops differ from the Slenderiix bottle sold in the United States, which is a homeopathic formula.

What a licence does not tell you

A licence tells you the product is authorized, what is in it and how much to take. It does not tell you whether it suits you. If you are pregnant, take medication or have a health condition, ask a pharmacist or your doctor before taking any natural health product, and read the cautions printed on the label.

It also only covers the exact product it was issued for. A listing that uses the same name but shows a different number, or no number, is a different product.

Who writes this page

The Perfect Nutrition is an independent shop in the United States, and its owner is a Partner.Co Brand Partner. We do not sell in Canada: our buttons take you to Partner.Co Canada, and if you buy there through our link we may earn a commission. Nothing here speaks for Health Canada; the database is the authority.