Herb quality

[Guest guest]

To clarify my first email re animal faeces in Calendula flos, Proline did

quarantine the whole 300Kg batch for testing and ran 10 tests on the sample.

The spec for foreign bodies was 2% and the batch test showed >0.1% with 0%

recurrence of faeces found...which I assume means that there were no other

bits of faeces in the sample tested. They said they would contact their

supplier for reassurances re future quality, but reckoned that the problem

could be traced to harvesting or growing stages.

While I was partly reassured at the time, I¹ve since had further quality

problems from them, and my orders are tiny in comparison with others.

Questions still remain, not least what technology should our soon-to-be

GMP-suppliers, or their bulk herb suppliers which would be better and

cheaper, install to ensure that no small contaminants like faeces, snails

etc slip through?

Also, with other issue of simply poor quality, old, badly dried herbs, like

my petals and Centella cut, how come these get past the supposedly new

GMP QC procedures? And think what the tinctures would be like made out of

batches like these...and the quality of tinctures is less easy to spot than

that of dried herbs.

Best wishes,

Laird BSc MNIMH MCPP

Medical Herbalist

68 Hurlingham Rd

London SW6 3RQ

Tel 020 7736 8975

Fax 020 7371 8450

alsl@...