How to wildcraft/pick herbs for production legally?
So our company is built on the foundation of local and sustainable products. We are currently sourcing all of our food materials from vendors. We are located in the lovely state of Washington and we have a lot of wild botanicals.
I was wondering if anyone had any information on how to wildcraft/pick herbs for production legally. I have spent hours googling it and I've struggled to find the information I need.
Dear Eryna,
The information you're looking for starts with the Washington convention:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CITES
Kind regards,
Gerard Heerkens
Your biggest concern with "foraging" for ingredients will be chemical uptake in those materials....how can you be sure that the soil isn't contaminated and your harvesting likewise contaminated herbs?
If you really want to use them (juniper, wild garlic et all) I suggest you harvest a sampling and send them to a lab for chemical residue analysis, you need to consider these products from the point of view of "approved supplier status"......how will you convince an auditor these items will not adulterate your finished products?
The issue is what may have been put on the lands or what the lands were used for...........if you're foraging in old growth forest, or is it reforested area......then there is the legal matter of who actually owns the lands on which you are foraging.............I would check out all of those things prior to keeping on
I applaud your efforts (we are orgainic farm to fork) but you need to ensure you don't jeopardize the business from a legal stand point
Your biggest concern with "foraging" for ingredients will be chemical uptake in those materials....how can you be sure that the soil isn't contaminated and your harvesting likewise contaminated herbs?
If you really want to use them (juniper, wild garlic et all) I suggest you harvest a sampling and send them to a lab for chemical residue analysis, you need to consider these products from the point of view of "approved supplier status"......how will you convince an auditor these items will not adulterate your finished products?
The issue is what may have been put on the lands or what the lands were used for...........if you're foraging in old growth forest, or is it reforested area......then there is the legal matter of who actually owns the lands on which you are foraging.............I would check out all of those things prior to keeping on
I applaud your efforts (we are orgainic farm to fork) but you need to ensure you don't jeopardize the business from a legal stand point
The legal reasoning is why I'm seeking this information. We have plant experts and experienced foragers on our team, and the areas they have harvested in the past are tried-and-true. We extract from all botanicals we pick, so everything is boiled and pasteurized before putting into our products. Before I joined the team nobody thought of the legal side of it, and I immediately put a hold on foraging until I can figure it all out.
I'm playing devils advocate here, have the plants been analyzed for chemical residues? Boiling will just concentrate any residue that may exist----just a point to ponder
Yes, you've done the right thing, this article says specifically, ensure you've got the land owners permission, be it private or government.