WARNING / DANGER

All our vegetable and essential oils are always produced 100% pure and are mainly supplied for professional users and applications. The moment you order from us, it is important that you are aware of the dangers when working with essential oils and base oils. Although essential oils play an important role in aromatherapeutic purposes/cosmetics, an essential oil are dangerous to your health if you get it wrong processed, packaged, transported and/or used.

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

The following section provides more information about the health and safety considerations that apply to the handling, processing, transportation, and use of essential oils in trade or retail.

Global Harmonized Standard (GHS)

The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) is an internationally agreed system created 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 the 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 on GHS. View 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 Material Safety Data Sheet (SDS or SDS). 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 should be taken when choosing the right processing equipment. Glass syringes are often used, but have a coarser volumetric scale.

Chemical syringes are ideal because they are resistant to essential oils, long enough to go into deep vessels and have fine graduations, which facilitate quality control. Unlike traditional pipettes, which are difficult to handle viscous liquids, the chemistry syringe has a seal and plunger that slide into the pipette and wipe the essential oil off the pipette wall.

Contact with undiluted essential oils on the skin should be avoided. Appropriate gloves should be used unless an alternative method is available to avoid touching the oils/bottles at all - such as a filling machine.

Ingestion and Toxicity

Many of our essential oils are widely used as AROMA flavoring agents in foods, beverages and confectionery. Strict standards for good manufacturing practices (GMP) and aroma substances apply to the use of essential oils in this way. This does not mean that our products can be consumed directly.

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

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

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

Allergic Reactions

Our oils are produced in a factory that also processes nuts. So beware of 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 bear certain identification marks. Never use highly flammable essential oils near an open flame 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 only Organic essential oils that are 100% certain that they have been analyzed in a laboratory that they are free of any pesticides. 

With regard to pesticide residues in, for example, 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 the pesticide content. This can be checked for each essential oil in the so-called certificate of analysis (COA). In this way, there is much stricter control 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 lists some examples. The table lists the LD50 (or median) lethal dose for common essential oils; this is the dose needed 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 species tested and test conditions.

Known name	Oral LD50	Dermal LD50	Remarks
Cassia cinnamon	2.80 g/kg	0.32 g/kg
cedarwood	>5g/kg	>5g/kg
frankincense	>2 g/kg	>2 g/kg	Boswellia sacra
frankincense	>5g/kg	>5g/kg	Boswellia carterii
Camphor camphor Cinnamomum camphora	3.80g/kg	>5g/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	>5g/kg	>5g/kg
white camphor	>5g/kg	>5g/kg	Cinnamomum camphora, oil extracted from the leaves
yellow camphor	3.73 g/kg	>5g/kg	Cinnamomum camphora, oil extracted from the leaves
ylang-ylang	>5g/kg	>5g/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.