Someone asked on reddit what the difference in classifications would mean. This was my response:
Regulation: If kava powder is classified as a food, it would be subject to FDA regulations pertaining to food safety, manufacturing practices, and labeling. If it's classified as a dietary supplement, the regulations are somewhat different. Dietary supplements are not required to be proven safe or effective before they're sold, as long as they don't make disease treatment or prevention claims. This means the level of scrutiny applied to the product in terms of its production, handling, and sales could vary depending on its classification.
Good Manufacturing Process (GMP): Both classifications require GMP. The GMPs for food focus on ensuring that food is safe and has been prepared, packed, and stored under hygienic conditions. They cover areas like the cleanliness of the facilities, the control of potential sources of food contamination, the training and personal hygiene of employees, the maintenance of processing equipment, and the proper storage and transportation of the finished product. Dietary supplement GMPs, on the other hand, are more extensive and specific, reflecting the unique risks associated with dietary supplements. These GMPs cover similar areas as food GMPs, but they also require manufacturers to substantiate that their products meet quality specifications like identity, purity, strength, and composition. This means that supplement manufacturers must test their products or verify the testing done by their suppliers. They must also keep extensive records and have written procedures for many aspects of manufacturing. Considering there is no standard set for powdered kava products, we have to ask ourselves if powdered kava was ever fit for this "dietary supplement" category to begin with. Kava extract products would certainly fall into this, as the consumer will be looking specifically at ingredients.
Labeling: As a food, kava would need a "Nutrition Facts" label, listing items such as serving size and nutritional content. As a dietary supplement, it would need a "Supplement Facts" label, which focuses more on the active ingredients and their amounts. Since powdered kava is a singular specific product, "Supplement facts" don't logically make sense here. A "Kava Extract Dietary Supplement" might contain many ingredients including the kava extract itself, excipients, and emulsifiers, and therefore is more fitted for supplement, instead of food.
Health Claims: As a dietary supplement, kava extracts could make more specific health-related claims, such as "promotes relaxation" or "supports mood," as long as it doesn't claim to treat, cure, or prevent diseases. As a food, it could only make general health claims, like "can aid in relaxation," and only if that claim can be substantiated. You could no longer say "aids in reduction of anxiety" on the bag. Honestly we should be getting away from these phrases in regards to powdered kava, anyway. While 250mg per day of kavalactones has been shown to be efficacious in extracts against situational stress and anxieties, we have no idea, quantitatively, the level of kavalactones consumed in traditional kava, so we can't make specific health claims about it anyway. While kavalactones have been proven to be helpful in relaxation, we can't necessarily say this about kava in its powdered form due to its fundamental non-standardization. One bag of powdered kava will likely be slightly different from another, even if it's marked as the same product. It's known among drinkers that consuming a strong kava too quickly could actually cause anxiety-like symptoms instead of relieving them.
If this leaves you thinking "Hmmm, not many people follow the federal rules as they are written, even today", you're correct. The understanding of what is necessary for selling kava in the United States is convoluted and different in each state. We want the rules to be ubiquitous in regards to powdered kava and extracts. This means we must focus our efforts at the FDA level.
