Training course on Botanical Risk Assessment

«Interesting training programme with great experts…all EU authorities dealing with botanicals should follow this course” Joris Geelen, former expert of the Belgian Government, Food Law Consultant

Key aim: to support the training and professionalism of researchers, technicians, inspectors  to improve their knowledge of quality control and technologies for raw plant materials and food supplements based on plants.

Training objectives:

• To improve participants’ skills and knowledge in the risk assessment of botanicals and confer a competitive edge to Businesses that produce and market botanicals, or products with plant derivatives.
• To provide participants with the knowledge and the skills required for working in a professional manner in an international environment, in line with recent developments in the field.

Who is aimed at:

The course is designed for researchers, personnel of SMEs  and industry working on the development, marketing or quality of botanical ingredients and/or plant food supplements and  for personnel of national authorities such as inspectors and officials.

The first round of the course involved over 100 participants (from Italy, Spain, Greece, Poland, Slovak Republic, UK, Croatia, UK, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, India and Yemen) and  the evaluation survey showed that  82% rated the course as very good to excellent .

About the course:

Lecturers and trainers are chosen among academics, officers of national authorities and leading international experts in the field. In addition to general background lectures, the course focuses on operational procedures and practice. Many aspects are tested in practical exercises and  there is ample use of specific case study material.

The curriculum is divided in 5 modules:

Module I – Advanced analytical methods and GLP (LC-MS, NMR, HPLC, ISO 17025)

Module II  – GMP, GAP, HACCP (EU and US regulations, regulatory management of plant products in EU MS)

Module III – Regulations on Botanicals (EFSA approach, tradition of use, composition-based risk assessment, food  toxicology, botanicals risk assessment,  ePlantLIBRA database – containing information about plant- and plant-food supplement, bioactive compounds with putative health benefits and adverse effects)

Module IV – Safety assessment of botanicals preparations (Quality issues: biodiversity, authentication and quality control, adulteration, authenticity and Purity testing)

Module V – Planning and management of official controls (Official controls in the EU: the role of FVO, evaluation of notification dossiers and special ingredients in some EU countries)

Practical information:

• Each training module is organized as a 2-day workshop with a mix of in person and from the distance experts (in live streaming or videos with live sessions for questions).
• A dedicated web page within EuroFIR PlantLIBRA microsite for live streaming, training materials and  videos lessons  (to be watched any time) will be available for registered participants
• Additional online activities
• Certificates of Attendance or Completion (upon completion of the exams) for each training module
• The course is also available as distance learning

For more information on next dates, registration and course fee, please contact [email protected]