Our Quality & Purity

Our Quality & Purity

We believe in the healing properties of nature.

Every bottle of Oil Garden essential oil is simply 100% pure and natural. You can rest assured that all of our products are pure uncompromised botanical.

Above all, Oil Garden is proudly Australian made and manufactured. All our oils are tested and bottled here in our labs in Victoria. We are experts and pioneers in aromatherapy with over 30 years’ experience.

Today the main methods of extraction of essential oils, as carried out by Oil Garden, are steam distillation and mechanical pressing. However be warned, there are many oils on the market that are extracted using solvents such as petroleum which leave a residue in the finished oil. It is also standard practice for commercial growers to spray pesticides on their crops and use synthetic fertilisers which carry over to the finished oil after the steam distillation process. Our close partnerships with growers and distillers worldwide, ensure that our products are pesticide and chemical free.

Here are some tips to help you navigate the pure essential oil market to ensure you are purchasing ultimate purity.

QA procedure at our laboratories in Australia

A strict QA program is at the heart of Oil Gardens ongoing commitment to ensure exact standards of purity are maintained throughout the oil’s journey from farm to bottle. As with most crops, oil quality can vary from season to season and from supplier to supplier. Even the same plant grown in different regions, or plants picked at different times of year will produce slightly different chemistry in the essential oils.

At the core of our QA program is a sophisticated state of the art method for analysing essential oils for authenticity. It includes a Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometry unit (GC/MS) which identifies the active ingredients of essential oils. This is backed by an expert operator with over 25 years’ experience in analysing pure essential oils and up to date knowledge in our industry.

When an essential oil arrives into the warehouse it is placed in Quarantine storage.
A sample is taken for analysis. The oil is given a unique identifying number RMID that will follow it through its life.
It undergoes physical tests including Specific Gravity, Optical Rotation, Refractive Index and Organoleptic testing.
Finally, it undergoes the GC/MS check for adulterants before it is released from quarantine.
A retention sample is taken and kept in storage and the oil enters production to include individual batch, expiry date and caution statement required.

What is the difference between a pure oil and a synthetic copy?

A pure essential oil is 100% true to the plant from which it is sourced. It is a pure plant extract, a volatile liquid taken from a single botanical source mostly extracted by steam distillation. Fragrant oils are made by blending synthetic chemical compounds in a laboratory in an endeavour to duplicate the most fragrant components of a pure essential oil. The end result is an oil which has no authenticated medicinal value and is not recognised or used by those seeking to practise the principles of Aromatherapy.

It is now more important than ever to carefully assess the quality and purity of the essential oils you are choosing. With the growing popularity in alternative medicine and the emergence of many new brands, Oil Garden recognises the responsibility in sourcing the finest oils from a network of trusted growers and suppliers to ensure 100% purity.

How to determine a good quality oil?

When buying a pure essential oil, check the label to for the below features:

Ensure the label has the botanical name and part of the plant specified.
If it is an essential oil blend ensure there is an ingredients listing on the label.
The essential oils should be in a dark glass container and display an expiry date, as essential oils are affected by heat, light and oxygen and may oxidise over time. Batch codes or ‘bottled’ dates are not a substitute for expiry dates.
Relevant warnings need to be listed on the label.

If your oil is intended for therapeutic use ensure it has a TGA AUST L number. This means that the claims are backed by the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration), the Australian independent governing body for therapeutic medicines.
Look out for a specification that the product is 100% essential oil.
Indications and applications for use should be listed on the label.