Botanical Procurement Glossary
Definitions of the certification, regulatory, analytical and commercial terms most often written into EU botanical raw material specifications. Working B2B reference for procurement teams.
Certification
EU Organic (Regulation 2018/848)
The European Union's organic production and labelling regulation, in full force since 2022.
Sets operator-level requirements for every commercial link in the chain when a product is sold as organic — producers, processors, packers and brokers (when they take title). Replaces the older 834/2007 framework. Operators are certified by recognised control bodies and listed in the EU organic operator database; the control body identifier appears on certificates and CoAs.
GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative)
A benchmarking organisation that recognises food safety standards meeting a shared baseline.
GFSI-recognised standards — BRC, IFS, FSSC 22000, SQF, GlobalG.A.P. and others — are accepted by major retailers and ingredient manufacturers as evidence of a credible food-safety management system. ISO 22000 alone is below GFSI tier. By 2026 most retail-facing food buyers expect at least one GFSI-recognised certificate from their suppliers.
BRC Global Standard for Food Safety
A GFSI-recognised retail-aligned food safety standard issued by BRCGS.
Strong in UK and EU food retail supply chains. Audits are unannounced or announced, with grades AA/A/B/C/D. Specifies management commitment, HACCP, GMP, traceability and supplier approval requirements. Common in dried fruit, herbs and powders supplied to retail-brand food manufacturers.
IFS (International Featured Standards)
A GFSI-recognised food safety standard particularly common in the DACH and France markets.
IFS Food covers processed food product manufacturing; IFS Broker covers companies that broker / re-pack food without manufacturing it on site. Strong adoption in German, Austrian, French and Italian retail supply chains. Compatible with most ingredient B2B buyers in those markets.
FSSC 22000
A GFSI-recognised food safety scheme built on ISO 22000 plus additional sector-specific requirements.
Adopted globally by ingredient processors and packaged-food manufacturers. Builds on the ISO 22000 management system with prerequisite programmes (ISO/TS 22002 series) and FSSC additional requirements. A common procurement specification for international ingredient suppliers serving multi-region brand owners.
HACCP
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points — the foundational food-safety methodology.
Required by EU food law (Regulation 852/2004) for all food business operators. Identifies biological, chemical and physical hazards in the process flow and establishes critical control points where they are monitored. HACCP is the floor — GFSI-recognised certifications build on top of it.
GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice)
The minimum hygiene, equipment and procedural standards for manufacturing food, pharma or cosmetic ingredients.
Different sectors have specific GMP frameworks — Ph. Eur. GMP for pharmaceutical APIs, ISO 22716 for cosmetics, food GMP under HACCP. For nutraceutical raw materials, GMP-certified production is increasingly the procurement floor.
COSMOS Organic
The European cosmetic-specific organic standard developed by Ecocert, Soil Association, BDIH, ICEA and Cosmebio.
Defines what 'organic' means for cosmetic finished products and ingredients. Most natural-cosmetic brand owners require COSMOS-aligned ingredients alongside EU Organic certification on the raw materials. Compatible with — but stricter than — generic EU Organic for cosmetic end uses.
Documentation
Certificate of Analysis (CoA)
A lot-specific laboratory report documenting the analytical specifications of a batch of raw material.
Issued by the producer or a third-party lab per shipment, the CoA covers identity confirmation, contaminant analysis (microbiology, heavy metals, pesticide residues), key bioactive markers (e.g. anthocyanins, flavonoids, HMF for honey) and any buyer-specified custom panels. The CoA is the contractual evidence that the lot meets the agreed specification — without one, the shipment is essentially unverifiable.
Regulation
Ph. Eur. (European Pharmacopoeia)
The legally binding quality reference for medicinal substances in the EU and 39 other countries.
Specifies monographs for plant raw materials, extracts and finished medicinal products. Sets identity tests, purity criteria, assay methods and microbial limits. For phytotherapy and pharmaceutical-grade botanical extracts, Ph. Eur. compliance is the regulatory floor for finished product release.
Reg. 2023/915 (Contaminants)
The EU regulation setting maximum levels for contaminants in food products.
Covers heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Hg, As), mycotoxins (aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, patulin, fumonisins, deoxynivalenol), nitrates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other contaminants. Replaced the older 1881/2006 framework. Limits are matrix-specific (per product category) and non-negotiable for goods placed on the EU market.
Reg. 396/2005 (Pesticide MRLs)
Sets harmonised EU maximum residue levels for over 600 pesticide active substances.
Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) are per pesticide per food matrix. For organic-certified lots, MRL screening is typically multi-residue (GC-MS + LC-MS) and a non-detection threshold is the practical buyer expectation. Tested per shipment for high-volume B2B orders.
Reg. 2073/2005 (Microbiological criteria)
Microbiological criteria for foodstuffs — defining acceptable limits per food category.
Covers Total Plate Count (TPC), Yeasts & Moulds, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli and Enterobacteriaceae among others. For dried herbs and botanical raw materials, the buyer typically specifies tighter internal limits than the regulatory floor. CoA microbiological panel is mandatory at goods-in for retail-bound product.
Cosmetic Regulation 1223/2009
The EU regulation governing cosmetic finished products and the underlying ingredient documentation.
Requires a Cosmetic Product Safety Report (CPSR), allergen declaration for the 26 EU-listed fragrance allergens (when above declarable thresholds), full ingredient INCI listing, and traceability across the supply chain. Suppliers of essential oils, plant extracts and cosmetic actives must provide buyers with the data needed to compile the CPSR.
Novel Food (Regulation 2015/2283)
The EU framework regulating foods not significantly consumed in the EU before 15 May 1997.
Novel Food authorisation is required before placing a Novel Food on the EU market. The EU Novel Food catalogue lists confirmed and non-confirmed items. Traditional preparations of established botanicals (e.g. dried hawthorn berry, juniper berry) are not Novel Food; concentrated extracts or new processing technologies may require Novel Food review.
REACH (Regulation 1907/2006)
EU regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals.
Covers essential oils and aromatic chemicals among other substances. Suppliers of essential oils above the 1 t/year threshold must register the substance. For B2B essential-oil suppliers, REACH registration and an SDS in the recipient-country language are commercial expectations alongside the GC-MS profile.
Cosmetics
INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients)
The standardised naming convention for cosmetic ingredients used on product labels worldwide.
Maintained by the Personal Care Products Council. INCI names appear in the ingredient list of every cosmetic product on the EU market. Suppliers of botanical extracts and essential oils provide the INCI name (e.g. Lavandula Angustifolia Oil) alongside the botanical Latin binomial for cross-referencing.
CPSR (Cosmetic Product Safety Report)
The mandatory safety dossier for any cosmetic product placed on the EU market.
Under Reg. 1223/2009, every cosmetic product needs a CPSR before sale. The CPSR draws on supplier-provided data on each ingredient — purity, allergens, contaminants, toxicology — making upstream ingredient documentation a hard prerequisite for cosmetic brand owners. Botanical raw material suppliers are expected to provide CPSR-relevant data on request.
IFRA (International Fragrance Association)
The global fragrance industry self-regulatory body that publishes safe-use standards for fragrance ingredients.
IFRA Standards set maximum usage levels for individual fragrance ingredients (including many essential oil components) based on product category. Cosmetic and personal-care formulators reference IFRA when designing fragrance dosing; essential oil suppliers provide IFRA-aligned dosage statements alongside the GC-MS profile.
Standards
ISO 3515 (Lavender oil)
The international standard defining the characteristic constituent profile of Lavandula angustifolia oil.
Sets reference ranges for linalyl acetate, linalool, camphor, 1,8-cineole, lavandulyl acetate, terpinen-4-ol and other markers, plus physical properties (refractive index, density, optical rotation). Commonly used as a cross-check against the supplier's GC-MS report to confirm a lot is true lavender, not lavandin.
GACP (Good Agricultural and Collection Practice)
EMA/WHO guideline for the cultivation and wild collection of medicinal plants and herbal substances.
Covers field selection, fertilisation, plant protection, harvest timing, post-harvest handling and traceability for medicinal plant materials. Wildcraft operations supplying nutraceutical or pharmaceutical buyers operate under GACP, with collector training and geotagged harvest areas.
Analytics
GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry)
A laboratory method that separates and identifies the volatile constituents of an oil or extract.
The reference method for essential oil specification — produces a chromatogram showing quantified peaks for each constituent (e.g. linalyl acetate, linalool, camphor in lavender oil). The buyer's QA team uses GC-MS to verify identity, detect adulteration (e.g. lavandin mixed into angustifolia) and confirm batch-to-batch consistency.
HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography)
A laboratory method for separating and quantifying non-volatile compounds in extracts and powders.
Used to quantify Vitamin C in rosehip powder, anthocyanins in aronia, flavonoids (hyperoside, vitexin, rutin) in hawthorn, and other key bioactive markers. The standard method for nutraceutical-grade botanical raw material specification.
Honey
HMF (Hydroxymethylfurfural)
A degradation product that forms when honey is heated or stored at high temperature.
Low HMF (< 15 mg/kg for fresh honey; EU regulatory max 40 mg/kg) indicates the honey has been handled raw and not ultra-filtered or pasteurised aggressively. Premium B2B buyers and organic buyers typically apply a stricter HMF cap than the regulatory ceiling. Quantified per lot on the CoA.
Melissopalynology
Microscopic pollen analysis of honey used to verify botanical and geographical origin.
Counts the proportion of pollen grains in a honey sample to determine whether the dominant nectar source matches the claimed origin (e.g. >45% Robinia pseudoacacia pollen for single-origin acacia). The standard authenticity test for single-origin honey and a contractual deliverable for premium B2B lots.
Extracts
DER (Drug-to-Extract Ratio)
The ratio of crude plant material to finished extract — a measure of extract concentration.
Expressed as DER native (e.g. 4:1, 5:1) meaning 4–5 kg of starting plant material concentrates into 1 kg of extract. Standardised extracts often combine DER with a marker compound percentage (e.g. hawthorn extract DER 4:1, 1.8% flavonoids). The buyer specification typically references both.
Cross-border
TRACES NT Certificate of Inspection (COI)
The EU's digital certificate accompanying organic-product imports from non-EU origins.
Issued per shipment by the recognised control body in the origin country and verified by the EU importer of record via the TRACES NT system. Required for organic claims to be maintained on non-EU origin goods entering EU customs. Without a valid COI, the goods cannot be sold as organic in the EU even if the origin certification is genuine.
Logistics
Incoterms 2020
International commercial terms published by the ICC that define seller / buyer responsibilities for delivery.
The most common in EU botanical B2B: EXW (Ex Works — buyer takes everything), FCA (Free Carrier), CPT (Carriage Paid To), DDP (Delivered Duty Paid — seller arranges everything). For new commercial relationships DDP is the strongest trust signal; EXW from an unknown supplier is a yellow flag.
Commercial
MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity)
The smallest order a supplier will accept on commercial terms.
For botanical raw materials, typical MOQs are 25 kg for dried herbs / fruit / powder (one paper-bag unit), 5–10 kg for cold-pressed oils, 300 kg for honey (one steel drum), 1–2 MT for industrial juice concentrate. Below MOQ, supplier may quote at a premium or refuse the order; sample volumes (100 g–1 kg) ship under different terms.
Reverse charge (intra-EU B2B VAT)
A VAT mechanism where the buyer accounts for VAT on cross-border B2B intra-EU supplies.
Both parties must be VAT-registered and listed in VIES. The supplier issues a zero-rated invoice with the buyer's VAT number; the buyer accounts for VAT in their domestic return. Standard for intra-EU B2B trade in botanical raw materials between VAT-registered entities.