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Anyone who has considered hoodia diet pills and has done any research on them has read about the importance of looking for a CITES certificate to identify authentic hoodia gordonii. I often wonder if people even understand what the certificate is and why it so important to look for one. If you have a basic understanding of what a CITES certificate is and what its role is within the hoodia trade, you’ll know why looking for one is so important when trying to find authentic hoodia gordonii.

As you probably already know, the hoodia gordonii plant is in high demand. But, did you know that it is a protected species and it’s in limited supply? Until recent years the cactus like plant only grew in the wild in South Africa. But, due to the increased demand for the plants weight loss effects, many people have taken to farming the plant. In order to protect the plant and the San people who have an interest in their native plant, the South African government has put regulations on the hoodia gordonii plant. This means there are licenses, regulations and controls for the growing, harvesting and exportation of the plant.

As a consumer, one of the regulations that you should know about is the CITES certificate. While there are other documents involved in the hoodia gordonii trade market, I am going to limit this article to the discussion of the CITES certificate. CITES stands for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The certificate serves as an international agreement between countries that, in essence, protects the plant from being threatened due to trade.

What this means is for someone to come in and export hoodia gordonii out of South Africa, they must first get a permit from CITES. Export permits from CITES must accompany all shipments of hoodia gordonii out of South Africa. It’s important to understand that these export permits are only good for six months. The permit holder must export the plant out within six months, or they must reapply and start the process over and obtain a new CITES permit.

There has been a lot of confusion about the dates on CITES permits. Some people are made to believe that the dates on these permits must be “current” or the company involved in the selling of hoodia gordonii is shady or lying. A CITES certificate that is outdated or old is just that - which means the six month window of exportation has expired.

It is not uncommon to see outdated CITES permits. If someone ships in a large quantity of hoodia gordonii, they may still have some of the plant on hand even though their CITES permit has expired. The CITES permit stays with the product until it is all gone. The permit only proves the product that was shipped was authentic hoodia gordonii. It doesn’t have anything to do with how long it may sit at a supplier once it has been exported.

It is also fairly common to see a name other than the company you are purchasing hoodia products from on the CITES permit. For instance, you may purchase your hoodia products from Company A, but Company B may be listed on their CITES permit. This is completely normal and it shouldn’t make you question the integrity of a company.

Supplement companies purchase their hoodia gordonii from suppliers. Suppliers are the ones that are listed on the CITES permits. These are the companies that actually go in and export the hoodia out of South Africa. There are only a limited number of suppliers who can obtain CITES permits. In the above example, the ABC Company is the supplier of the hoodia gordonii to the XYZ Company.

You should know that just because a website displays a CITES certificate doesn’t guarantee that they are packing their capsules with 100% pure hoodia gordonii. Since all hoodia products are supplements and supplements are not regulated, some companies make claims about their products that aren’t true. Just because a company has a CITES permit doesn’t mean they are packaging their hoodia in a way that is beneficial to weight loss. In other words, a CITES permit should not be a green light for you to assume the product that is being sold is pure hoodia gordonii.

The CITES permit doesn’t regulate what happens to the plant once it’s exported. The CITES certificate only serves as a sign that pure hoodia gordonii plants were exported from South Africa. A supplement company can do whatever they want with it once it is in their possession. They may even claim to be packaging 500mg of hoodia gordonii into their capsules when they really may not be.

I hope you now see what the CITES certificate is, and what it isn’t. Now that you know the role of the CITES certificate in helping you identify pure hoodia gordonii, you can find the hoodia products that are authentic.

Tags: Health

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