Today's nutraceuticals industry is rapidly changing, with technical breakthroughs and innovations that allow customers to choose the best, most sophisticated ingredients and services that they could not avail in the past. At the same time, these technical advancements also led customers towards falsified products as unethical suppliers were offering perfectly tailor-made extracts, including duplicated brands, and adulterated and substandard products, which may pose a health risk to consumers.
With this in mind, Vidya Herbs has decided to take a stand in taking a cognisant approach by choosing high-quality ingredients that do not merely meet price targets and specifications. Indeed, with Full-ID, Vidya Herbs strives to craft a custom-made offering that stands apart for its quality and personalised traceability system.
Turmeric extract is one product that has been criticised for its naturality and genuineness in the market, and curcumin monomers are being adulterated and supplied in place of natural curcumin extracts for a low price through document falsification or mixing natural and synthetic curcumin to obtain the three peaks with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) testing. It is now time for a reliable quality system that can guarantee turmeric's natural combinations to end users to meet all quality parameters, regulatory standards and sustainability concepts, with an eye to future generations.
Alongside its high-quality product and traceability system, Vidya Herbs is moving a step forward with its innovative concept named Full-ID, a system that is applied to its turmeric extracts range, Puremeric. The Full-ID system gives Vidya's customers the ability to track Puremeric at all stages of the supply chain, from the field to the finished product.
A Full-ID-rated Puremeric protects customers' brands and, above all, their consumers, which is of paramount importance. The Full-ID system guarantees Puremeric that is quality, natural turmeric extract that includes three-peaks identification with HPLC, carbon-14, and DNA testing to control its naturality and authenticity, while screening for contaminants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heavy metals and aflatoxins. With such rigorous quality-control measures, Vidya is able to offer the right turmeric extracts to its customers.
The Full-ID system complements existing traditional methods to provide added protection for customers' businesses through a unique product with organic-certified extracts, third-party authentication, sustainability and 100% traceability in the supply chain.
Vidya Herbs' supply chain is controlled with a backward-integrated sourcing system, which uses contract farming to source high-quality raw materials, including turmeric fingers.
For sustainability, Vidya uses high-yielding turmeric rhizomes that increase the profitability for the corporate and its farming partners. This turmeric rhizome selection prevents intensive farming and helps to protect the environment, ecosystems and local people in the long term.
Moreover, Vidya is working in partnership with local farmers to provide full traceability; education for farmers; a water management system, which introduces drip irrigation to save 40% of water when compared with conventional irrigation methods; and the encouragement farmers need to employ natural and eco-friendly plant protection systems, like biopesticides and fungicides, to prevent chemical use. Vidya also contributes to rural development by donating to local people for the improvement of schools and providing clean drinking water to villages.
Vidya Herbs' standardised Puremeric has highly desirable qualities for turmeric extracts, which overcomes several constraints and challenges in its successful production and incorporation into end-consumer products, either as flavours, colours or as nutraceutical actives.
Vidya is one of the main players of turmeric extract in India with more than 200MT manufactured extract.
Vidya is working closely and hand in hand with farmers to ensure high traceability and knowledge for both parts.
