Like many people I have sought answers to some questions about the difference between essential oils derived from organic and conventionally grown crops.

By conventional I mean the use of chemical additions to enhance growth or prohibit pests and weeds.

What I wanted to know is whether there are pesticides or chemical residuals present in the end oil products derived from conventionally grown products.  An oil marketed as pure, green, natural should not contain pesticide residuals right?

I have read in many places that the process of distillation removes any unwanted additives. But what about cold pressed oils?

So here is what the science tells us.

90 – 95% of the agricultural land worldwide is farmed conventionally. Conventional farming involves the use of pesticides and fertilisers. 

Pesticides are used to assist in crop development. Pesticides kill, control or prevent pests, diseases and weeds. They may also be used to protect crops after harvest, while in storage or during transport. They are also used at times to regulate growth.

Pesticides include insecticides (lice, caterpillars), acaricides (spiders and mites), herbicides (weeds), fungicides (fungi), plant growth regulators and rodenticides (rats, rodents).

Regulation of pesticides is not harmonised. Essential oils come from a number of countries some with very poor regulations in place. Some countries with regulations may not have the best compliance rates. Focus on yield and production can be affected on a season by season basis depending on market conditions, adverse local conditions (i.e plague scenario) or purely for economic reasons. Not all pesticides of the same group are equal.

In organic agriculture no pesticides are allowed other than naturally occurring compounds or extracts.

As the use of pesticides is common residues have to be regulated by defining the maximum residue levels or MRL. An MRL is the upper legal concentration of a substance that can be tolerated with respect to the health and safety of consumers.

Essentially what the science tells us is that only pesticides that are hydrophilic, thermostable and volatile can be carried over into the essential oil during distillation (steam).

Cold pressed oils however may be impacted by a higher number (quantity and type) of pesticides than those that are obtained via steam distillation.

Between 2006 to 2013 testing was carried out on a select group of essential oils to determine the presence of pesticides in essential oils and if levels were detected whether these exceeded the MRL. 589 samples were tested over 28 oils with each sample tested against 217 substances.

Of these samples 314 showed no residues at all. Being 53% of all samples. 275 samples revealed at least one positive result and 1,150 results were contaminated with more than one pesticide.

Particular oils looked at included neroli, rosemary, eucalyptus, caraway and lavender.

Of the 65 samples of Neroli oil 199 tested positive for pesticides and 77 showed positive for pesticides such as biphenyl and chlorpyrifos-ethyl that were above the MRL.

Of 49 samples of Rosemary oil tested, 15 revealed more than the MRL levels of biphenyl. Biphenyl is usually a citrus peel treatment agent and Rosemary has no peel so this is likely a contamination issue or other issue.

In relation to Eucalyptus oil of the 36 samples tested 3 were positive for pesticides. Of the 25 Caraway samples tested three were positive for pesticides. And for Lavender of the 19 samples tested one was positive but none were over the MRL. 

Organic essential oils are steam distilled from plants that have been grown under the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) standard of organic farming.  This means that no toxic and persistent pesticides were used during the crops lifespan.  The entire process from the ground to the distillation occurs without the use of toxic pesticides, synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, or GMOs. 

TIPS

1. If you want your organic dollar to make a larger impact, buy organic citrus oils.  Most conventional essential oils don’t need to be grown with non-organic herbicide and pesticide inputs. Conventional (non-organic) citrus oils, however, have a higher probability of containing pesticides due to the manner in which they’re cultivated. 

2. When formulating with other organic ingredients such as carrier oils (sesame, jojoba), it’s ideal to add organic essential oils so that your entire end-product is organic. 

3. Choose organic Lavender oil when used as a topical application for a burn or a scrape. 

4. Choose all organic essential oils when using with babies, children, or aging persons. 

5. Use organic Eucalyptus and/or Tea Tree oils in a humidifier during cold and flu season to ward off germs. 

The World Health Organisation estimates the total cases of pesticide poisoning worldwide at between 2 and 5 million workers each year, of which 40,000 are fatal. Most of these occur in developing countries.

In many countries agricultural workers are often excluded from employment injury benefit or insurance schemes.

Unintentional poisonings kill an estimated 355,000 people globally each year many of whom work in agricultural industries and are affected by agrichemcial exposure.