Transparency and Traceability of Raw Materials

Minimum Standards

Raw material sourcing is planned and coordinated

Routine testing procedures are implemented for authenticity, adulteration and contamination, including tests for the following:

  • Appearance, moisture, ash, acid-insoluble ash
  • Pesticides testing utilising (GC-Ms, GC)
  • Organochlorines
  • Organic Phosporus
  • Pyrethrins
  • Heavy Metals and Harmful Ingredients Testing (ICP-MS, AAS)
  • Heavy metals – lead chromium, copper, mercury
  • Hazardous ingredients – Arsenic
  • Tests conducted for heavy metals and pesticides/herbicides for each batch
  • Active or significant ingredient testing e.g. testing for hyperforin content in Hypericum perforatum (St Johns Wort)

Best Practices

Quality

  • Standardisation of seed selection (e.g. exact species, subspecies and variant), propagation, soil type, cultivation, harvest conditions, drying and processing
  • Upstream activities so that in addition to quality control in processing there is also an agricultural/planting source framework to control the resources of high quality herbs.
  • Determine quality of origin to establish quality assurance and stability
    Establish uniform standards for management of contaminants, adulterants, substitution

Transparency

  • Development of quality and traceability systems.
  • Sources of raw materials are named and guaranteed.

Traceability

  • Origin of each batch is known and traceable
  • Field visits to identify the genuine source of herbal raw material
  • Product security, authentication, identification for individual products, individual product security.
  • Barcode systems for each single herb.
  • Every bag of raw material is tagged with standalone product bar code and quality information
  • Transaction security, tracking, tracing, pedigree, chain of custody security.
  • Tracing country of origin, manufacture date, quality inspection report.
  • Chemical marker of single herb to protect chain of custody for extraction of herbs.