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New EU Vendor (Kavaha.eu)

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
Wow, didn't know kava was even legal in Poland. Rad!
Sure enough. There is some gray area in the realm of "for human consumption", and I'm looking to get to the bottom of that, because I believe that makes 2 Polish kava vendors.
 

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
Okay, got a little more info. It's still not legal to sell for human consumption. This vendor may have troubles in the future due to the way they market kava for human consumption.
 

kavamehameha

Magnum's 'awa drinking bird
Okay, got a little more info. It's still not legal to sell for human consumption. This vendor may have troubles in the future due to the way they market kava for human consumption.
I thought kava was legalized in Poland for human consumption? That's the whole point of the Polish shops of Kalm With Kava (kalmwithkava.pl) and NZ Kava Society (Kavaeurope.eu).
 
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TheKavaSociety

New Zealand
Kava Vendor
I am not a legal expert, obviously, but according to the info I have received, some companies have managed to provisionally register their products as dietary supplements. These products can be sold as such until the local equivalent of the FDA makes a ruling. There is a list somewhere of all registered kava products that can be sold under these rules.I ll try to find the right link. I know Kava Europe have registered their products, so these products can be legally sold for human consumption in the EU, at least until the local FDA thing makes a ruling.
 

Groggy

Kava aficionado
Admin
I am not a legal expert, obviously, but according to the info I have received, some companies have managed to provisionally register their products as dietary supplements. These products can be sold as such until the local equivalent of the FDA makes a ruling. There is a list somewhere of all registered kava products that can be sold under these rules.I ll try to find the right link. I know Kava Europe have registered their products, so these products can be legally sold for human consumption in the EU, at least until the local FDA thing makes a ruling.
Load up while you can!
 

Aloha Kava

Aloha Kava Guy
Kava Vendor
I am not a legal expert, obviously, but according to the info I have received, some companies have managed to provisionally register their products as dietary supplements. These products can be sold as such until the local equivalent of the FDA makes a ruling. There is a list somewhere of all registered kava products that can be sold under these rules.I ll try to find the right link. I know Kava Europe have registered their products, so these products can be legally sold for human consumption in the EU, at least until the local FDA thing makes a ruling.
I have sent my kava to France at least without trouble — which to me was surprising, since not only is it kava, but it's liquid kava. I thought the oddity would have raised a flag somewhere.
 

kavamehameha

Magnum's 'awa drinking bird
I know Kava Europe have registered their products, so these products can be legally sold for human consumption in the EU, at least until the local FDA thing makes a ruling.
One has to be careful here. As far as I know, this exclusively applies to Poland. Importing kava (for human consumption or generally, depending on the country) from Poland (or elsewhere) is still prohibited in almost all countries in the EU. Unfortunately, there is no general EU law regarding kava which applies to all countries.

This means that while kava is legal in Poland, it cannot be shipped from Poland into most of the other countries in the EU. That's the strict legal situation as it is at the moment (as far as I know it).

Of course, there are no regular customs checks on shipments between EU countries. Go figure... We all know what that means in practice.
 
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Aloha Kava

Aloha Kava Guy
Kava Vendor
One has to be careful here. As far as I know, this exclusively applies to Poland. Importing kava (for human consumption or generally, depending on the country) from Poland (or elsewhere) is still prohibited in almost all countries in the EU. Unfortunately, there is no general EU law regarding kava which applies to all countries.

This means that while kava is legal in Poland, it cannot be shipped from Poland into most of the other countries in the EU. That's the strict legal situation as it is at the moment (as far as I know it).

Of course, there are no regular customs checks on shipments between EU countries. Go figure... We all know what that means in practice.
In my deepest dreams, I become a kava tycoon with the money and power to bring these laws to task and free kava for the world. A man can hope, hah
 

TheKavaSociety

New Zealand
Kava Vendor
One has to be careful here. As far as I know, this exclusively applies to Poland. Importing kava (for human consumption or generally, depending on the country) from Poland (or elsewhere) is still prohibited in almost all countries in the EU. Unfortunately, there is no general EU law regarding kava which applies to all countries.

This means that while kava is legal in Poland, it cannot be shipped from Poland into most of the other countries in the EU. That's the strict legal situation as it is at the moment (as far as I know it).

Of course, there are no regular customs checks on shipments between EU countries. Go figure... We all know what that means in practice.
ok, i might be wrong, but this is how I understand it: Things are more tricky. Single market rules are based on the principle of mutual recognition. So, if Poland makes it legal to sell it for human consumption, it is lawful for the Polish companies to ship it to customers in other EU countries. Even if it remains illegal to sell it for this purpose elsewhere.

Now, there is one complication here. Countries are allowed to restrict movements of goods within the single market for "safety" reasons. But my understanding is that these cant be just pulled out of one's ass. If Austria wants to restrict Polish companies' exports on those grounds, they need to launch a proper procedure at the EU level with the EU Comission making a ruling on the basis of scientific evidence.

in practice, it's possible local authorities will just be doing their thing due to ignorance etc, but, as you noted, there are actually no customs checks between the EU member states.
 

kasa_balavu

Yaqona Dina
Fijians can't buy a single kava product in the entire country that is single-cultivar. Amazing to see a new vendor in Europe selling Vula Kasa Leka :unsure:
 

TheKavaSociety

New Zealand
Kava Vendor
Fijians can't buy a single kava product in the entire country that is single-cultivar. Amazing to see a new vendor in Europe selling Vula Kasa Leka :unsure:
is it possible there is just no local demand, but can be done for export needs? a few kava vendors seem to be offering specific fijian varieties. Or are these just blends with one main variety?
 

kavamehameha

Magnum's 'awa drinking bird
ok, i might be wrong, but this is how I understand it: Things are more tricky. Single market rules are based on the principle of mutual recognition. So, if Poland makes it legal to sell it for human consumption, it is lawful for the Polish companies to ship it to customers in other EU countries. Even if it remains illegal to sell it for this purpose elsewhere.

Now, there is one complication here. Countries are allowed to restrict movements of goods within the single market for "safety" reasons. But my understanding is that these cant be just pulled out of one's ass. If Austria wants to restrict Polish companies' exports on those grounds, they need to launch a proper procedure at the EU level with the EU Comission making a ruling on the basis of scientific evidence.

in practice, it's possible local authorities will just be doing their thing due to ignorance etc, but, as you noted, there are actually no customs checks between the EU member states.
Ok, I get your point. However, as I understand it, this is not about restricting the exports of Polish companies, but rather restricting the import of certain goods. Everything depends on how products are handled in every single state, and they can do this pretty independently. So if one country prohibits the import, it doesn't matter where the shipment comes from (inside EU or overseas), and it is also irrelevant whether this product is legal in the country of origin. I don't know of any exceptions. Again, I might be wrong here, so if someone knows a bit more, please share.

Unforunately, there is no uniform, consistent law which applies to all member states of the EU. A ruling on kava in the EU commission should come in a few years, but it doesn't look very good. In general, countries have been restricting and prohibiting our beloved root even more in the past few years -- even without any proper scientific evidence. It's crazy, it's unfair, it's outrageous, but that's how it is.
 
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Michael Nielsen

Kava Enthusiast
Ok, I get your point. However, as I understand it, this is not about restricting the exports of Polish companies, but rather restricting the import of certain goods. Everything depends on how products are handled in every single state, and they can do this pretty independently. So if one country prohibits the import, it doesn't matter where the shipment comes from (inside EU or overseas), and it is also irrelevant whether this product is legal in the country of origin. I don't know of any exceptions. Again, I might be wrong here, so if someone knows a bit more, please share.

Unforunately, there is no uniform, consistent law which applies to all member states of the EU. A ruling on kava in the EU commission should come in a few years, but it doesn't look very good. In general, countries have been restricting and prohibiting our beloved root even more in the past few years -- even without any proper scientific evidence. It's crazy, it's unfair, it's outrageous, but that's how it is.
The main issue is should it be classified as food or medicine?
 
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