Analysis of Key Risk Factors for Organic Wild Collection Products

Wild collection product is one of the most important types of organic produce, but one that did not receive adequate attention, for instance, studies on risk analysis of wild collection products started quite late. The organic standards for wild collection products of different countries are similar, but the key risk factors of the certification process are decided by certification bodies, leading to high subjectiveness of the certification process and absence of objective systematic cognition of risks of wild collection. Based on the standard of the organic certification and analysis of the data retrieved from literature and some certification cases, a step-wise analysis was performed of the entire process of organic wild collection products to screen out key risk factors that affect the organic integrity of wild collection products. These risk factors include four first-level risk factors, such as "environment of the collection area", "sustainability of the resources and eco-environment", "mixture and safety of the wild products" and "post-handling process", and relevant twelve second-level risk factors. A hierarchical structure of risk factors was built up, thus laying down the foundation for further studies on risk assessment.