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Within the processing of wood numerous streams containing hundreds of chemicals are formed. Isolation, characterisation and testing of these chemicals for either potential pharmaceuticals, intermediates for high value chemicals or food additives is an area that is underutilised today. Production of pharmaceuticals and food additives from forest feed material are not that common. Examples include the pharmaceutical Paclitaxel (taxol) and the food additive vanillin.

Identification, isolation and the ultimate production of potential pharmaceutical products will require all disciplines in the ERIFORE consortium to work together. Complications include variance of feed material causing variance of impurity profiles of the isolated product. Both up-stream and down-stream processing, including isolation and purification of the product would have to be tightly controlled. Production of several high value products would have to be conducted in accordance to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).