QA and HACCP systems in herb and spice production 103
6.1 Introduction
The herb and spice industry is a truly global industry. Raw materials from various
countries around the world can become combined in products that are sold to consumers
everywhere. A bottle of ‘Herbs de Provence’ sold in a small town in Canada could
contain lavender from Canada, basil from Israel and rosemary from Italy. Caraway
produced in the Canadian prairies could end up on the shelf of a cook in France,
Coriander in a curry in India. Chamomile tea sold in Canadian supermarkets could
contain Chamomile grown in the wild in Romania. Echinacea grown in Canada could
end up in an extract in Italy. Many ethnic communities in Canada import herbal
products to support the medicinal and culinary trends of those cultures.
The global availability of herbal material has provided consumers with an ever
expanding choice of products. The question must be asked. Does this also expose
consumers to an ever greater risk of food-borne illness? The answer is yes, and this
risk must be controlled. In recognition of this need the Canadian herb and spice
industry has evolved from small regionalized groups to a national forum. It was an
effective process that brought together ten provinces and one territory. To understand
the significance of this it is first necessary to understand the immensity and diversity
of this country. Canada spans the northern half of the North American continent and
touches three of the world’s seven oceans. Her people range from the Atlantic fisheries-
based east coast provinces, through an industrial and agricultural heartland through
prairies, vast mountain ranges and on to the western coast on the Pacific Ocean.
Canada extends north to the Arctic ocean and embraces communities that have become
adapted to the harsh climate of the extreme north. In all of these regions people grow,
collect and consume herbs.
In 2002 the Saskatchewan Herb and Spice Association, which represented herb
and spice producers in western Canada from the prairie provinces to the west coast,
explored the possibility of a national organization that tied the entire country together.
Prior to 2002 the herb and spice industry was split between an organized but struggling
western industry and many small distinct groups to the east and north. Key producers
and manufacturers were contacted across the country and an inaugural meeting was
6 QA and HACCP systems in herb and spice production....................
C. Kehler, Canadian Herb, Spice and Natural Health Coalition, Canada
and J. Schooley, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Canada