104 Handbook of herbs and spices
held. Everything came together at the right time. Federal and provincial governments
were developing a focus on food safety and new regulations for natural health products,
consumers were developing an awareness of the importance of safe products and
farmers were working toward safe production practices and environmental sustainability.
In 2004 the first national meeting of the Canadian Herb, Spice and Natural Health
Product Coalition was held in Guelph, Ontario.
A mandate and strategic plan were developed. By 2005 the Canadian industry had
moved from disjointed regional sectors to a unified coalition. They had developed a
HACCP-based on-farm food safety model, an international plant identification practice,
been an inaugural player in the development of the natural health product regulations
and worked with the agriculture industry to develop a sector council for Agriculture.
They also have been part of the development of national standards for traceability
through the Cantrace initiative, are represented on the Special Crop Value Chain
Round Tables and the medicinal crops working group for international harmonization
of minor use products. They are part of the Natural Health Product Research Society
and lead an initiative to guide the development of appropriate regulations for natural
health products for animals.
They have successfully raised the profile of this industry and linked industry
sectors together both at home and abroad. These connections have built business
relationships and value chains across the industry. The scope of the coalition
encompasses field and greenhouse production, wild harvesting, primary processing,
manufacturing and finished products. The coalition also encompasses research,
regulations, education, and includes the perspective of the consumer and practitioners
in the industry. Visit the website at http://www.nationalherbspice.com for more information.
6.2 HACCP planning for herb and spice production..........................
Food safety is one of the key issues facing the entire value chain of food production
around the world. The safety and quality of any food product or raw ingredient
begins at the source either with wild-harvesters or with the producers. By implementing
good agriculture practices (GAP) on the farm, the safety at the beginning of the value
chain can be optimized. For many products, buyers and manufacturers are coming
to expect that their suppliers, including on-farm producers, have these practices in
place. Two of the primary drivers of this initiative have been the issue of correct
identification and the reduction of adulterants, both vital in the medicinal and
culinary world.
The Canadian Herb, Spice and Natural Health Products Coalition (CHSNC) is one
of over 20 national industry groups involved in the Canadian On Farm Food Safety
Program (COFFS). These industries are developing voluntary HACCP-based On-
Farm Food Safety Programs and Good Agriculture Practices (GAPs).The goal of the
COFFS program is to use HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point)
principles to enable a facility to provide protection from contamination of the food
supply from the source to the consumer. Although it is technically impossible to
remove all risk all the time, an accurate detailed on-farm food safety program using
good agriculture practices will reduce risks and show due diligence. The herb and
spice program covers natural health products, medicinal and culinary herbs (cultivated
and wildcrafted) and spice crops. The end result is a government-recognized COFFS
program for each industry group.