Industry professionals met in Bologna, Italy last week for a conference held at SANA, the international natural products trade fair, to discuss the future of their sector. From April 2011, all member states will have to comply with a European Union directive which specifies that all herbs produced, manufactured and sold in the EU must be classified as either foods or medicines.

Those working in the sector have for a long time been campaigning for regulation and greater control, but the new authorization and licensing requirements have enormous implications for the herbal medicine industry throughout the European Union. Marinella Trovato, President of S.I.S.T.E., the Italian Society for Herbal Science and Technology in Milan, said there is great concern about market ramifications. "A lot of companies are worried about the possibility that in the future they cannot use a lot of plants for food application."

Many small producers and manufacturers of medicinal herbs will no longer be able to afford to do so, unable to cover the cost of authorization licences for medicinal herbs, Trovato added.

UK-trained herbalist, Marco Valussi, speaking at the conference, warned that the terms of the directive would put herbal remedy manufacture in the hands of large pharmaceutical companies, and this was likely to narrow the range of medicinal herbs on the market.

Not all the medicinal plants are, economically speaking, interesting for the big companies," said Marco Valussi, who works in Italy as a consultant in the field of medicinal plants and vegetable-based products. "These companies might decide to focus on maybe five or ten important herbs and leave behind the other ones. So the consumer could have a reduced range of choices."

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Marco Valussi showed concern that some of the less common herbal remedies may disappear completely from the European market. "Obviously, we all want the best quality and lowest risk possible for consumers, but we also want the consumer to have the possibility to use plants." He added that the directive will also put consumers at an economic disadvantage. "Buying at the pharmacy usually means that you pay much more than if you buy at the erboristeria."

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