Expiration Dates

[Guest guest]

Hi Debbie,

>

> Quick question. Woodwards book on essential oils that I've been

> reading through mentions that essential oils lose their potency after

> 2 years.

> Is this true?

 

Yes! They become deadly poison and will kill within minutes of anyone

smelling them. ;-p

 

Truth is that's not the truth. Sorta like human critters, there's no

such thing as an " Expiration Date. " There's a ballpark Shelf Life on

EOs and on human critters .. and we can shorten it or lengthen it by

taking good care of it or by neglecting it .. but there's no date or

period of time when EOs turn to poison or humans turn to pumpkins. We

must ask why the writer wrote that? Does the writer wish to deceive us?

Or does the writer not know? Either way, I would look at other things

in the book with a jaundiced eye.

 

Some oils gets better with age .. Rose and Sandalwood and some others

get even better and better and better. If you can find some Sandalwood

from the 1940s or 1950s, you got yourself a gold mine, But lemme tell

you something about determining Shelf Life in general then I'll get more

into Rose Otto .. done told you all you need to know about Sandalwood.

 

One of my Taiwanese customers once told me that they saw a post on the

aromatherapy list in Taiwan where someone had purchased my product and

was discussing the Dates of Expiration on my Miron Violet Bottles.

I HAVE NO DATES OF EXPIRATION ON MY BOTTLES!! I will never have them.

 

Why? Because it is impossible to determine an Expiration Date on an

oil because it will be different for different people - depending on how

they store the oils. Like I said, essential oils are much like people -

and we have a supposed Shelf Life - but we can extend or shorten either

one depending on the care or lack of care we give our bodies - and our

essential oils.

 

What you do find on MY bottles are Dates of Production - and this is a

rare thing because few folks do this. See the close up of my labels

at http://www.AV-AT.com/explain.html I do this so the knowledgeable

people can determine the " approximate " Shelf Life of their oils. If we

don't know when a child was born, or an essential oil was distilled, we

have no information upon which to base a determination of Shelf Life -

right? Why don't others do this? Is it cause they or their wholesaler

doesn't know the Date of Production or is it because they know but don't

want to tell us? What do you think?

 

It's a pain-in-the-butt to change oils out that are still good because

some folks are mislead by dates .. but I do it all the time cause the

folks buying from me don't have to know what they're doing to spend the

money .. I gotta cater to them anyway.

 

It tracks that if we don't know the Date of Production we can't know the

expected Shelf Life. Without Date of Production, if they do indicate a

Date of Expiration on the bottle, it serves no purpose but to give us a

false sense of security - we still must guess - just as the seller most

likely guessed. And lemme tell you that most sellers guess.

 

Essential oils don't have some magic Expiration Date like Cinderella's

pumpkin. They will not make a miraculous change at the stroke of

midnight on a day of expiration .. or even in a particular month that

might be related to a date of expiration .. but there are some writers

of aromatherapy novels that say this because they have insufficient

information and/or are too lazy to do proper research. For example:

 

Citrus Oils - you can tell when it is bad because it will not smell like

the fruit from which it was taken. Since they are almost always Cold

Pressed (not distilled) oils, its best to go with Certified Organic so

they have an even a better chance for life as there have been no harmful

chemicals used on the tree or fruit.

 

Under normal storage conditions, Citrus Oils can be expected to last 18

months before there is chemical degradation. BUT if its kept in proper

storage conditions, it will stay fresh for two years or so. We keep all

of our oils under conditions that do not allow oxydation .. it is light

and oxygen that shortens the life of any chemical substance (actually,

that's what ages us humans critters too). We keep our Citrus Oils

refrigerated and under Nitrogen - which displaces oxygen. I have some

Lime that is almost three years old - not selling it but I can guarantee

that it is some of the finest I've ever seen.

 

Tea Tree - shelf life is a minimum of Five Years.

 

Some folks want fresh oils - but many oils improve with age and the cost

also goes up .. just a few are Lavender, Rose Otto, Sandalwood, Vetiver

but I could go on and on. I save some of these oils now and don't want

to sell some of them for another few years .. they will be more valuable

then. All wines do not turn into gourmet vintage wines - some turn to

vinegar, but others become more valuable - same with EOs.

 

Mints - fresh is not best! Mint oils distilled in the USA in June have

a higher menthol content but those distilled in August and/or September

(closer to flowering) have a higher menthone and menthofurane content -

which is GOOD! As for peppermint and spearmint - most US distillers

sell fresh oils to Wriggleys and other confectionary companies - but for

aromatherapy, they hold it back for a year. They keep it in a dark

area, unsealed, and decant back and forth between bottles to aerate it.

Then they do a nitrogen flush (replace oxygen with nitrogen) and seal

it. That oil will last a good 3 plus years if properly stored.

 

For Rose Otto - fresh is not best!!! The Date of Production of my Rose

Otto is June 1999 and June 2000 .. it is the ultimate for available Rose

Otto - Rose Otto improves with age. I am no longer selling Rose Otto

from the 1997 & 1998 crops .. but I have some for myself. We won't sell

the 2001 crop until 2003 ..

 

The Turkish Rose Otto Association keeps Rose Otto in vaults and they

sell the fresh Rose Otto to perfumeries .. but the aged Rose Otto is

what the Aromatherapists want. There was over 43 million dollars worth

of Rose Otto produced by my distiller in June 2001 .. only a large,

Cooperative organization could afford to sit on such an investment - the

small growers in Bulgaria and even in Turkey cannot afford to do that so

they only sell the fresh Rose Otto, or as we say in the industry - the

" raw " Rose Otto. If I had more of the 1997 and 1998 crop, I would raise

the price on it! Wanna see how its done then check this URL:

http://www.av-at.com/distillation/rosadamascena1.html

 

Generally, the Shelf Lives of some essential oils are:

 

Frankincense, Vetiver, Sandalwood and Patchouli - Indefinite and they

improve with age.

 

Other Wood and Resin oils - Ten years and longer.

 

Rose Otto - 8 to 10 years and they improve with age.

 

Citrus and Conifer oils - Assuming no preservative has been added (and

there is none in mine) - easily up to 18 months and even longer if

stored under nitrogen or refrigerated.

 

Most Herbal/Floral oils, and most Absolutes - Four years or so.

 

Everything else - Four to Seven years.

 

In order to extend the Shelf Life of cold-pressed citrus oils, they are

best kept in the refrigerator - the same is true with hydrosols. If you

can't do that, keep them in as cool an area as you can.

 

DO NOT put Rose Otto or Anise in the refrigerator as it will crystalize

FAST but both will return to normal when you take them out again. Fact

is, they'll both crystalize in your home in the winter.

 

Keep Essential Oils in colored glass, out of the light, tops on tight,

out of sight and treat them right .. ;-p When a bottle is starting to

empty, put the oil into a smaller bottle - this reduces the amount of

oxygen in the bottle. Oxygen and light are not good for any chemical.

Don't expose essential oils to extreme temperatures - neither hot nor

cold and rapid changes of temperature are also not good.

 

Remember that EXACT Expiration Dates and Best Used By Dates are garbage!

It just is NOT TRUE! It totally depends on the methods of storage - but

you must know Date of Production - that is important information. Date

of Production is the time we begin our planning and calculations. Most

sellers, if they use a date at all, use the date it was BOTTLED because

that is all they know .. and that doesn't tell us the Date of Production

as it might have been 4 years old when it was bottled.

 

So to recap and hope y'all remember this .. it is true that there are

general " expected " dates of the Shelf Life for various oils - and also

various humans. None at the same and we can increase or decrease Shelf

Life of humans or of any substance containing chemicals if we store it

and maintain it correctly or incorrectly.

 

So - you ask a one-liner and get a book .. sorry about that ... ;-p

 

Now I'm going back to work .. getting all the data together to add the

33 new oils and lots of replacement oils to my Retail site .. gott'em on

the Wholesale site now but not on Retail.

 

> Thanks, Debbie

 

Welcome you are .. and Happy Easter to all .. :-)

 

Y'all keep smiling, Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

 

Wholesale/Retail GC Tested EO, Rose Otto, Hydrosols and other goodies

shipped to you from Downtown Friendsville, Maryland .. population 600.