Valensa International (Eustis, FL) applauds the new rule from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Division of Plant Industry, which requires all landowners and harvesters of saw palmetto berries to have a Native Plant Harvesting Permit as of July 17, 2018.
According to Larry McCarty, head of manufacturing and supply chain at Valensa International, “the new rule brings much needed oversight to better preserve the Florida botanical and wildlife ecosystems, while promoting responsible harvesting practices.” Valensa is a global leader in driving responsible and sustainable harvesting of saw palmetto, McCarty noted.
“The new rule is consistent with the goals of our supply chain excellence program for USPlus Saw Palmetto Extract which embodies our commitment to delivering traceability, purity and consistency of supply of saw palmetto extract in both responsible and sustainable manners,” McCarty said. “The new rule creates a level playing field as we require everyone in the supply chain to have the appropriate permit as a condition of sale, including land owners, pickers, harvesters and dryers.”
Hailed as a “Florida Treasure,” saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) palms are native to the southeast United States with the vast majority of commercially harvested berries coming from Florida.
“We believe this new rule is an important step that will remove the poaching from the industry and allow legitimate harvesters to sustainably pick the highest quality berries,” McCarty said. “This will insure a bright future for the ecosystem, landowners, harvesters, producers and millions of people who rely the health benefits of saw palmetto.”
Valensa recently joined the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Dietary Ingredient Verification Program which has a published monograph for saw palmetto oil extract, and will participate on a panel on November 8 at Supply Side West in Las Vegas, NV to continue the discussion on sustainable, ethical harvesting and extraction of wild crafted saw palmetto berries.
For more information, visit www.valensa.com.
