SEOC QUALITY ASSURANCE

Sydney Essential Oil Co. takes pride in the quality of the ingredients we supply, and has an ongoing commitment to maintaining and developing our customers' trust through supply chain quality assurance. Our team is committed to sourcing, securing and maintaining standards that continue our industryleading practices.

Every product on our list has undergone a rigorous selection criterion starting with the supplier, and followed by our batch to batch Quality Control processes.

Each of our suppliers has been chosen based on their industry reputation and trading history, quality systems and organic certifications, their product portfolio and ability to provide technical information and support, seasonal factors which may influence stock availability, plus their annual production capacity.

Each product then undergoes a full material assessment by our Quality Control (QC) department. This includes applicable in-house QC tests such as - GC/MS (Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer), Appearance, Colour, Odour, Specific Gravity, Refractive Index, and/or Optical Rotation. Where relevant, an external laboratory is engaged to undertake particular tests, outside of our own capabilities. Technical data is also assessed on Product Specifications, Certificate of Analysis, Material Safety Data Sheets, Organic Certifications, and Product Declarations. And lastly, as nature can be inconsistent, we compare samples from previous batches to monitor the natural seasonal variations that can occur.

Only once all stages have been completed, QC passes and releases stock into our inventory for sale to our customers with a batch-specific Certificate of Analysis. This batch number is encrypted in the barcode on every product and allows full traceability and guarantees the authenticity of the product back to the approved supplier.

Organic Certification

SEOC is one of Australia's largest suppliers of Certified Organic Essential Oils.

Our comprehensive selection of Certified Organic products is consistent with and embraces the Company's philosophy of offering only the best natural products available on the market.

Our organic range is certified by Australian Certified Organic (ACO), and many items in our range are also certified NOP/USDA.

ACO is Australia's largest and most widely recognised organic certifier. The 'bud' logo is found on more than 80% of the certified organic products sold in Australia. And their Organic Cosmetic Standard is recognised as one of the world's most stringent.

SEOC's premises is Licensed to repack, bottle, manufacture and supply Certified Organic oils, blends and raw materials.

Country of Origin

Under Australian law, the Competition and Consumer Act does not require goods to be labelled with their country of origin. However, in the spirit of providing supply chain transparency, we choose to readily provide this information to our customers.

Many products we offer are not grown or produced in Australia, therefore we import from countries that have established production capabilities. All goods that we do import are, by law, required to be supplied to us with a trade description that states the name of the country in which the goods were made or produced. This information then becomes the Country of Origin that we attribute to each specific batch of goods.  This information is made available upon request.

Shelf life

At Sydney Essential Oil Co. we adhere to regular stock cycling in order to maximise freshness in our batches and provide customers with the best available products.

It is worth noting that there can be a significant difference between the shelf life of products that actually 'expire' and are no longer suitable for use, and products that have a recommended 'best before' date. Ingredients that have specific

Expiry Dates are commonly high level 'active' ingredients such as preservatives and vitamins, whose distinctive attributes have been determined through scientific studies to only be effective for a set period of time. These should not be used after the date set by the original manufacturer without risk of failed efficacy.

Best Before dates however, are a recommendation rather than an exact life span. Some dates are almost arbitrary, and allocated to a product that is often suitable for use well into the future if stored in optimal conditions. Items that fall into this category are clays, salts and even some essential oils. In fact, many essential oils deepen in aroma intensity and mature with age rather than degrade. Oils such as sandalwood, cedarwood and patchouli are commonly acknowledged as having this trait. But not all essential oils can boast this characteristic and it must be noted that other oils, in particular some citrus oils, tend to decrease in colour and aroma as they age. These oils are best to be purchased seasonally, consumed quickly and not stored for extended periods.

Methods of Extraction

Essential Oils

are aromatic oils extracted from plant materials such as flowers, leaves, bark, roots, and tree resins. They are extracted by two main methods; steam distillation and cold pressing. The Steam Distillation method is most common and this process isolates the volatile and water-insoluble parts of the plant. (Hydrosols are the water-soluble by-products of the distillation process.) Cold Pressing is the method used for extracting the oil from the rind of citrus fruits. Essential oils are usually liquid, but can be solid or semi-solid according to the base plant material and storage temperature.

Absolutes

are highly concentrated viscous, solid, or semi-solid aromatic liquids, obtained by solvent extraction. This method is used when the plant material, such as delicate flowers, herbs, leaves or roots, can be damaged by the high temperatures of steam distillation. The first stage of extraction produces a waxy, solid Concrete. The Concrete is then put through a second solvent extraction stage to obtain the Absolute. Absolutes have an intense odour quality and are most useful in perfuming and blending.

Oleoresins & Resinoids

are solvent extracted from dry natural resinous plant materials, such as gums or powders. They can be solid, semi-solid or viscous liquids. Oleoresins consist of a mixture of essential oils and resins. They are used mostly in the food industry, and also in perfumery as a fixative for prolonging the effects of the fragrance.

CO2 Extracts

are oils that are solvent extracted with gentle, non-toxic carbon dioxide. This low environmental impact process leaves no solvent residues, as any remaining CO2 simply evaporates during processing. This gentle extraction method is effective in isolating and retaining high levels of the bioactive constituents from the base material.