1Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mauritius. Email: khayatimoudgil@jssuni.edu.in, khayatimoudgil18@gmail.com
2Department of Health System Management Studies, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysore, India. Email: harshith.dhsms@jssuni.edu.in
3Community Pharmacist, Pharmacy Du Centre, Mauritius. Email: arshadsaroar78@gmail.com
*Corresponding Author: Khayati Moudgil, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mauritius. Email: khayatimoudgil@jssuni.edu.in
Received: 16th Dec, 2025; Revised: 8th Feb 2026; Accepted: 12th Feb, 2026; Available Online: 28th Feb, 2026
The rapid growth in the consumption of food supplements, cosmetics, and herbal medicines in Mauritius has raised concerns regarding product safety, quality, and regulatory oversight. Despite the existence of the Pharmacy Act (1983) and the Pharmaceutical Council Act (2015), limited evidence exists on how effectively these frameworks ensure compliance and protect public health. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of existing regulatory mechanisms governing the production, processing, packaging, and marketing of these products in Mauritius. The key research questions guiding this study are: How effective are current regulations in ensuring consumer safety and product quality? and What policy reforms are required to strengthen regulatory harmonization and enforcement? A qualitative research design was employed to analyze policy documents, legal frameworks, and stakeholder insights. Findings reveal that while the Acts provide a foundational structure for oversight, regulatory gaps persist in standardization, post-market surveillance, and inter-agency coordination. The absence of harmonized guidelines poses challenges in ensuring consistent enforcement across sectors. This review provides one of the first comprehensive analyses of the Mauritian regulatory environment for these product categories and highlights critical areas requiring reform. Recommendations include establishing unified standards, enhancing quality control mechanisms, and promoting cross-sectoral collaboration to improve regulatory efficiency. By addressing existing policy and implementation gaps, the study contributes to improving consumer protection and public health governance in Mauritius.
Keywords: Food supplements, traditional medicines, consumer protection laws in Mauritius, herbal medicines, regulatory processes and ayurvedic medicine
How to cite this article: Moudgil K, Harshith N, Saroar AM, A review on evaluation of the regulatory processes for food supplements, cosmetics, traditional, ayurvedic and herbal medicines in Mauritius. Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026; 16(2): 372-379; DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.2.41
Source of support: Nil.
Conflict of interest: None