WARNING / DANGER

All our vegetable and essential oils are always produced 100% pure and are mainly supplied for professional users and applications. When you order from us, it is important that you are aware of the dangers of working with essential oils and base oils. Although essential oils play an important role in aromatherapeutic purposes/cosmetics, an essential oil can be dangerous to your health if you process, package, transport and/or use it incorrectly.

'For general guidelines on the safe use of essential oils, we refer you to the link Disclaimer & Safety below.' 

The following section provides further information on the health and safety considerations applicable to the handling, processing, transportation and use of essential oils in commerce or retail.

Global Harmonized Standard (GHS)

The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) is an internationally agreed system established by the United Nations. It is designed to replace the different classification and labeling standards used in different countries with the use of consistent criteria at a global level. It replaces the previous classification systems of the European Union and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the United States.

The GHS has introduced new "common" hazard symbols worldwide. These are the symbols used in the GHS.

 

For more information regarding GHS. Check out this Wikipedia page here.

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Flammability

Certain essential oils are classified as Class 3 flammable liquids and therefore require additional controls when transported by air, land and sea. Such oils include:

Tea Tree
Citrus oils, such as: Lemon, Grapefruit, Bergamot, Orange
Rosemary
Eucalyptus
The flammability of essential oils can be determined using the safety data sheet (SDS or VIB). This can always be found in your account or at the bottom of every page.

Processing 

Exposure to certain essential oils can cause contact dermatitis. Essential oils can be aggressive to rubbers and plastics, so care must be taken when choosing the right processing equipment. Glass syringes are often used, but these have a coarser volumetric scale.

Chemical syringes are ideal because they can withstand essential oils, are long enough to go into deep vessels and have fine graduations, which makes quality control easier. Unlike traditional pipettes, which have difficulty handling viscous liquids, the chemistry syringe has a seal and plunger that slide into the pipette and wipe the essential oil from the pipette wall.

Contact with undiluted essential oils on the skin should be avoided. Suitable gloves should be used unless an alternative method is available to prevent the oils/bottles from being touched at all - such as a filling machine.

Ingestion and toxicity

Many of our essential oils are widely used as AROMA flavorings in foods, beverages and confectionery. The use of essential oils in this way is subject to strict standards for good manufacturing practices (GMP) and aromatic substances. This does not mean that our products can be consumed directly.

Some oils can be toxic to some pets, cats in particular.

The internal use of essential oils can even pose serious dangers to pregnant women, as some can be abortifacient in doses as small as 0.5-10 ml, and should therefore not be used during pregnancy at all.

If you are not a professional user, you should never take essential oils orally or use them neat on the skin.

Allergic reactions

Our oils are produced in a factory that also processes nuts. So be careful if you have a nut allergy!

Flammability

Certain essential oils are classified as flammable (Class 3) under the Chemical Labeling and Packaging Regulations. To this end, they must be provided with certain identification marks. Never use highly flammable essential oils near an open flame or other heat and ignition sources. 

Pesticide residues

There is often concern about possible pesticide residues in essential oils, especially when used for cosmetic purposes. We sell almost only organic essential oils that have been 100% analyzed in a laboratory to be free of any pesticides. 

For example, when it comes to pesticide residues in food essential oils such as mint or orange oil, the appropriate criterion is not only whether the material is organically produced, but whether it meets government standards based on an actual analysis of pesticide content. This can be checked for each essential oil in the so-called certificate of analysis (COA). In this way, much stricter checks are carried out to prevent pesticides from entering the food chain above the agreed limit values.

Toxicology

Some essential oils can even be fatal if ingested. The following table shows some examples. The table provides the LD50 (or median) lethal dose for common essential oils; this is the dose required to kill half of the animal population tested. LD50 is intended as a guideline only, and reported values ​​may vary widely due to differences in the species tested and test conditions.

Well-known name	Oral LD50	Dermaal LD50	Comments
Cassia cinnamon	2.80g/kg	0.32 g/kg
Cedarwood	>5 g/kg	>5 g/kg
Frankincense	>2 g/kg	>2 g/kg	Boswellia sacra
Frankincense	>5 g/kg	>5 g/kg	Boswellia carterii
Camphor camphor Cinnamomum camphora	3.80g/kg	>5 g/kg	Cinnamomum camphora, oil extracted from the leaves
Indian frankincense	>2 g/kg	>2 g/kg	Boswellia serrata
Lemon myrtle	2.43 g/kg	2.25 g/kg
Roman chamomile	>5 g/kg	>5 g/kg
White camphor	>5 g/kg	>5 g/kg	Cinnamomum camphora, oil extracted from the leaves
Yellow camphor	3.73 g/kg	>5 g/kg	Cinnamomum camphora, oil extracted from the leaves
Ylang-ylang	>5 g/kg	>5 g/kg

 

Further information on the toxicology of other essential oils can be found in the safety data sheet SDS. These are always available in your account and can be requested from us. Always read these carefully before working with the oils.