Finding Pure Hoodia Gordonii and the CITES Certificate

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.

One of the basic regulations put in place for the endangered hoodia gordonii is the implementation of the CITES certificate. CITES stands for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. This is basically an agreement between governments that ensures that international trade of the plant doesn’t threaten its survival. There are other regulations and documents that are required, too, but for the sake of this article I am only going to discuss the CITES certificate.

For hoodia gordonii to be exported from South Africa by a company, they must first obtain an export permit from CITES. There is no getting around it. Any shipments of hoodia gordonii out of South Africa must have these CITES permits. These permits are valid for six months. This means someone who has obtained a CITES permit has six months to get their shipment of hoodia gordonii exported. If they fail to get their shipment out within six months, they must reapply and ask for a new 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 A CITES certificate that is outdated or old is just that - which means the six month window of exportation has expired.

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.

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.

There are only a few suppliers who are issued CITES permits. Supplement companies then buy their hoodia gordonii from these few suppliers. In the example above, Supplier Incorporated is listed on the permit so that means they were the actual supplier that exported the hoodia gorodnii. Helen’s Health Company is displaying a CITES certificate issued to Supplier Incorporated so that means Helen’s Health purchased the hoodia gordonii they use in their products from Supplier Incorporated.

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.

All the CITES permit is meant to convey is the supplier had permission to export a certain amount of hoodia gordonii out of South Africa by a certain date. Once it arrives at the companies that are packaging hoodia products, they can do whatever they want with it. They can claim they are selling a pill that is 500 mg of pure hoodia gordonii, but it may only contain 150mg or 250mg.

Now that you have a better understanding of what the CITES certificate is and what its role is, you know why looking for one is important when trying to find authentic hoodia gordonii diet pills and products.