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 hazards when working with essential oils and carrier oils. Although essential oils play an important role in aromatherapeutic purposes/cosmetics, an essential oil can be dangerous to your health if you handle, package, transport, and/or use it incorrectly.

For general guidelines on the safe use of essential oils, please refer to the link Disclaimer & Safety below 

In the following section, you will find more information about the health and safety considerations applicable when handling, processing, transporting, and using essential oils in trade or retail.

Globally Harmonized Standard (GHS)

The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling 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 various countries by using consistent criteria worldwide. It replaces the previous classification systems of the European Union and the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

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

 

For more information about GHS. See this Wikipedia page here.

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Flammability

Certain essential oils are classified as flammable liquids of class 3 and therefore require extra controls during transport 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 from the safety data sheet (SDS). This is always available 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 coarser volumetric graduations.

Chemical syringes are ideal because they are resistant to essential oils, long enough to reach deep containers, and have fine graduations, which facilitate quality control. Unlike traditional pipettes, which struggle with viscous liquids, the chemical syringe has a seal and a plunger that slide inside the pipette and wipe the essential oil off the pipette wall.

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

Intake and toxicity

Many of our essential oils are widely used as AROMA flavorings in food, beverages, and confectionery. Strict standards for good manufacturing practices (GMP) and flavorings apply to the use of essential oils in this way. This does not mean that our products are ready for direct consumption.

Some oils can be toxic to certain pets, especially cats.

Internal use of essential oils can even pose serious risks for pregnant women, as some can be abortifacient in doses as low as 0.5-10 ml, and therefore should never be used during pregnancy.

If you are not a professional user, you should never take essential oils orally or apply them undiluted to the skin.

Allergic reactions

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

Flammability

Certain essential oils are classified as flammable (class 3) under the Chemical Labelling and Packaging Regulations. They must therefore be marked with specific identification symbols. Never use highly flammable essential oils near open flames or other sources of heat and ignition. 

Pesticide residues

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

Regarding pesticide residues in, for example, essential oils for food use, such as mint or orange oil, the correct 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 every essential oil in the so-called certificate of analysis (COA). This way, much stricter control is exercised to prevent pesticides from exceeding agreed limits in the food chain.

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 tested animal population. LD50 is intended only as a guideline, and reported values can vary widely due to differences in tested species and test conditions.

Common name	Oral LD50	Dermal LD50	Remarks
Cassia cinnamon	2.80 g/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
Kampfer camphor Cinnamomum camphora	3.80 g/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.