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Finding Pure Hoodia Gordonii and the CITES Certificate

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Written by Reagan Miers

Friday, 13 June 2008

by ReaganMiers

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.

The hoodia gordonii plant is a protected species due to its limited supply and high demand. It is only found in South Africa and until recent years, was only grown wild. Due to the increasing popularity for hoodia gordonii, farming began in an attempt to keep up with skyrocketing demand. In order to protect the hoodia plant and the industry as a whole, including the San people who have a vested interest in their native crop, the South African government implemented controls, licenses, and regulations for the harvesting and exportation of hoodia gordonii.

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.

This is important to understand because there is some confusion in the hoodia industry about the dates shown on CITES permits. People are led to believe that CITES permits must be "current" in order to be valid, otherwise they don't mean anything. They mistakenly believe that if the CITES certificate is older than six months the company must be lying or must be trying to pull a fast one on the consumer. In some instances an "old" CITES certificate may be just that, but it is not necessarily the rule.

Suppose a supplier exports several thousand kilograms of hoodia on one permit, and that inventory of hoodia gordonii doesn't actually sell out for eight or nine months. The original CITES permit, along with the original issue date shown on the permit, will always be attached to that inventory. Even though the date on the CITES permit will be older than six months, that CITES permit is still valid and still provides proof that the hoodia gordonii used is authentic. Keep that in mind as you are looking at CITES certificates from companies you are considering buying from. An older date doesn't necessarily mean the CITES permit is invalid and the hoodia gordonii used isn't real.

Something that is important for you to know is a CITES certificate may have a different company's name on it than the company you are purchasing the hoodia products from. This means you may go to the XYZ Company to purchase hoodia supplements and upon viewing their CITES certificate you see the supplier's name is ABC Company. The names on the CITES permits may not always match up.

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.

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 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.

About the Author:

Did you know that the CITES certificate is just one of 13 items to look for when you buy hoodia pills? Get the full list of what to look for and read reviews of the best hoodia here.

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