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Pacific kava exports still under threat and need to adopt strict quality standards

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infraredz

BULA!
Pacific kava exports still under threat
Updated at 4:15 pm on 12 June 2014
http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/247047/pacific-kava-exports-still-under-threat


A kava researcher based in Vanuatu says the future of the kava trade into Europe is still threatened despite a landmark German court ruling on the traditional herb.

The decision by Germany's Federal Administrative Court overturns Germany's twelve year old ban on kava because of fears overs its toxicity.

The ban has also reduced trade into the rest of Europe and the United States representing up to 200 million US dollars in losses for the Pacific region.

Photo: RNZ

Vincent Lebot says the trade is still at risk because there are serious problems with the quality of kava being traded.

The wrong varieties are being exported, the wrong parts of the plants are being exported. This is potentially very dangerous, because if some kava of poor quality is exported to the EU it will be the end of kava for good.

A kava reseracher based in Vanuatu, Vincent Lebot.


Pacific needs to adopt strict quality standards for kava

Updated at 6:41 am on 16 June 2014
http://www.radionz.co.nz/internatio...ds-to-adopt-strict-quality-standards-for-kava

Germany's 12 year ban on kava has been overturned, after Germany's Federal Administrative Court found the ban to be unlawful and inappropriate.

However, kava growers are being warned that the trade is still at risk because of serious problems with the quality of kava being traded.


Photo: RNZ

The chair of the International Kava Executive Council, Tagaloa Eddie Wilson, says the council has been working with pacific farmers and governments to introduce kava production standards.

The next step now is to actually put in place a set of quality assurances, processes, so that whoever exports kava will have to comply by very strict quality standards.

Tagaloa Eddie Wilson says the aim is that only scientifically approved varities of kava will be exported.
 

infraredz

BULA!
So quality control is still quite the issue, and even more of a reason for getting your suppliers to supply Certificates of Analysis for Vanuatu kava and any test results they have from other sources (for things like heavy metals, pesticides, microbial pathogens, etc). Also of course, there is good reason to be making sure your kava is noble per the test that Dr. Lebot has outlined which one can find at the top of the forum.
 
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