Sustainable Harvesting of Wild Herbs

Despite the increase in cultivated herbs, many botanicals that end up in natural products are still harvested from their natural habitat. Called wildcrafting, this process of sourcing botanical ingredients can be beneficial to customers, businesses and the environment.  However, as the demand for botanical products continues to grow, it is vital to adopt sustainable harvesting practices.

The INSIDER online Resource Center (find the tab above) features a special report entitled, Sustainability of the Supply Chain: Sustainable Harvesting Ensures Botanical Quality and Supply. Written by Frank Lampe, Director of Communications at the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), this report will review the Good Agricultural and Collection Practice for Herbal Raw Materials (GACP), which was created by AHPA and the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP). Major areas covered include: agricultural practices, collection practices, post-harvest handling, personnel and recordkeeping and retention samples.

To go directly to this report, click here.