Alessandra Bertoli
University of Pisa
Italy
Title: Botanical authentication and certification for consumer safety
Biography
Biography: Alessandra Bertoli
Abstract
Botanical authentication has to be considered a fundamental step to guarantee the consumer safety
of botanical food supplements. Nowdays, National and International Pharmacopoeia as well as
EMEA, ESCOP, and WHO commissions provide monographs on several medicinal and aromatic
plants to get information on their traditional uses and quality control guidelines. EFSA compendium
establishes the list of medicinal and aromatic plants which it is possible to include in botanical food
supplements sold in the European market.
Due to the enhancing industrial interest consistent with the continuous customer's trusted approach
to "natural products", the scientific research community has required urgently to provide suitable
protocols and procedures in the quality control of the plant raw material and derivatives during the
whole productive and marketing chains.
Multidisciplinary research studies combining botanical, agronomic, and phytochemical analysis
should be promoted in order to guarantee important results in the establishment of feasible and
effective quality control procedures, international certification and, consequently, in the
identification of customers' health risks.