Traceability of herbal raw materials has become an important issue in the EU regulations aimed on consumer protection. Producers of food products including supplements - and by analogy also of herbal medicinal products - must be able to trace their raw materials down to the origin of the plant. The current practice of trading does, however, rarely allow for such transparency.

HerbResearch and Medicinal & Aromatic Plants R&D aim on securing the total traceability of the commercial pathways in raw material trading, and thereby avoiding the opacity leading the adulterations. At the same time the quality standards are improved down to the selection of a special chemotype, if requested.

• Programs for screening of local habitats and identification of high performance cultivars
• Transfer of the identified plant types either to cultivation or, where this is not possible, to closely controlled collection
• Development of proper cultivation, harvesting and processing techniques
• Transfer of technology of cultivation or collection techniques to local farmers