Professional profile: Herbal and health products Technician
Function in a professional context and competences:
A Herbal and health products Technician will be able to work at a specialist level in the sectors of cultivation, processing, blending and formulation, packaging, marketing and control of plant-based health products, ensuring their safe use to protect consumer health.
In particular, thanks to the competences acquired, the professional profile will be able to perform the following functions:
1 - recognition, cultivation and use of medicinal plants;
2 - production, processing and transformation of natural raw materials;
3 - formulation and production of health products, in accordance with current legislation;
4 - quality control of health products, through pharmaco-toxicological, biochemical and microbiological analyses and technological tests;
5 - critical interpretation of technical-scientific documentation to define plans and procedures for managing the safety of health products and for monitoring food quality, in accordance with current legislation (HACCP);
6 - drafting the documentation required to apply for an authorisation to place health products on the market, in compliance with current national and EU legislation;
7 - technical-scientific consultancy service relating to hygiene and health surveillance and dissemination activities aimed at providing information on the characteristics and properties and correct use of health products.
in order to perform each of the functions described above, the learning outcomes of the degree programme are defined to develop specific theoretical and practical competences, so as to prepare professionals with adequate grounding in the following fields:
1. knowledge of medicinal plants: acquisition of agronomic competences, recognition of medicinal plants and their chemical, pharmacological and therapeutic/health-related characterisation;
2. agronomic, botanical, phytochemical, microbiological and analytical competences useful for conducting controls on medicinal plants from production through to post-harvest;
3. competences relating to the safe and appropriate use of medicinal plants in health products, by further exploring topics related to the processing and transformation of natural raw materials and the formulation and production of health products;
4. competence in chemical-analytical and microbiological laboratory techniques useful for conducting controls on the quality of herbal preparations, and in the field of legislation governing herbal products;
5. competences in chemical-analytical and microbiological laboratory techniques useful for preparing HACCP self-monitoring plans, as well as knowledge of the legislation governing this activity;
6. phytochemical, pharmacological and technological competences relating to medicinal plants and their preparations, combined with the abilities to source, further develop and manage scientific information in the field of medicinal plants and their health products, and with knowledge of the legislation;
7. microbiological, phytochemical, pharmacological and technological competences relating to medicinal plants and their preparations, combined with knowledge of chemical-analytical and microbiological laboratory techniques useful for preparing quality control protocols for the preparations and knowledge of the legislation.
Employment opportunities
• Herbal shops;
• parapharmacies and pharmacies, as the person in charge of herbal and phytocosmetic products;
• points of sale for plant-based health products;
• production or marketing companies in the herbal, phytocosmetic and dietary-food sector;
• laboratories, authorities or bodies that conduct quality control/certification activities for herbal products;
• working as a product representative on behalf of manufacturing companies in the sector;
• consultancy activities at herbal laboratories and companies that produce or market products regarding notifications for plant-based food supplements;
• sectors for the promotion and advertising of products based on medicinal and aromatic plants.
Professional profile: Environmental and health product Toxicologist
Function in a professional context and competences:
An Environmental and health product Toxicologist will be able to work at a specialist level in the field of chemical and toxicological control of the environment and of pharmaceutical, food, nutraceutical and cosmeceutical products.
In particular, thanks to the competences acquired, the professional profile will be able to perform the following functions:
1. assess the presence of toxic substances in health products and their associated risk, in order to ensure the protection of the health of operators and the consumer;
2. monitor the levels of toxic substances present in the different environmental matrices - water, soil and air - to protect health and in order to plan prevention, mitigation and remediation measures;
3 - critical interpretation of technical-scientific documentation to define plans and procedures for managing the safety of health products and for monitoring food and environmental quality, in accordance with current legislation (HACCP and REACH);
4. technical-scientific consultancy and dissemination activities aimed at providing information on the characteristics, properties, prevention and protection relating to environmental pollutants.
in order to perform each of the functions described above, the learning outcomes of the degree programme are defined to develop specific theoretical and practical competences, so as to prepare professionals with adequate grounding in the following fields:
1. knowledge of the chemical characteristics of inorganic and organic molecules and their reactivity, with particular reference to toxicological and environmental issues;
2. knowledge of chemical-analytical, microbiological, biological and toxicological laboratory techniques essential for the identification and quantification of environmental, food and health product pollutants and contaminants;
3. competences in chemical-analytical, microbiological and toxicological laboratory techniques, combined with knowledge of current legislation, with particular regard to the European REACH legislation on the classification of substances hazardous to health;
4. chemical, biochemical and toxicological competences, combined with knowledge of experimental techniques used in the assessment of toxicity and the abilities to source, further develop and manage scientific documentation specific to the relevant field of competence.
Employment opportunities
• Public and private laboratories for chemical, microbiological, toxicological, environmental and food analyses;
• Centres for the control and monitoring of pollutants in the environment (air, water, soil) and of contaminants in food within public and private companies;
• Study centres and bodies responsible for developing technical standards and/or quality certification;
• Chemical, pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics industries and related industries;
• Public and private research organisations.
