Silver Spring, MD, March 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) and the Canadian Herb, Spice and Specialty Agriculture Association (HSSA) encourage the use of recognized Good Agricultural and Collection Practices in the North American herbal products market. With herbal product manufacturers increasingly sourcing plant material on a global basis, AHPA and HSSA are recommending the consistent use of Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) as the herbal industry standard for North America. GACP practices provide a framework for growers, harvesters, and processors so they can ensure that herbal raw materials used in consumer products are accurately identified, not adulterated with contaminants that may present a health risk, fully conform to all quality characteristics and respect ethical and environmental principles.

The US and Canadian GACP systems share these important characteristics that enhance quality practices throughout the botanical supply chain. Both systems apply to cultivated as well as wild collected botanical material and are built on the following GACP concepts:

• Plant identity - the foundation for ensuring safety and consistency of any plant based product in the global marketplace.
• Reliable botanical suppliers - having knowledge of the products and practices being used that can impact botanical quality.
• Harvest and post-harvest processing - implementing practices that preserve and protect botanical quality as it enters the botanical supply chain.
• Training - ensuring employees have appropriate training for their job functions and that records are kept to document GACP activities.

AHPA and HSSA encourage the use of these GACP systems in the US and Canada as a means of managing risk and establishing consistent and recognizable standards for North America. These tools allow the botanical industry to take a proactive approach in addressing safety, quality, ethics and traceability within their operations.

The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) is the national trade association and voice of the herbal products industry. AHPA is comprised of more than 350 member companies, consisting primarily of domestic and foreign companies doing business as growers, processors, manufacturers and marketers of herbs and herbal products as foods, dietary supplements, cosmetics, and non-prescription drugs, and also including companies that provide expert services to the herbal trade. www.ahpa.org

HSSA has been representing and supporting the specialty agriculture industry including herbal products from he field and forest to the shelf for over 28 years. Its members and representatives span the country and the full value chain. GACPs are one of the support tools HSSA supports throughout North America and they are pleased to collaborate with AHPA to ensure these practices are known, recognized and used. CHSNC is the national body for specialty agriculture from the field and forest to the shelf in Canada and HSSA is its secretariat. Read more about CHSNC and HSSA and the GACPs at www.hssa-SK.ca.