Safety Information

What to know about safety, packaging, labels and safe use of essential oils.

Check Labeling for the Geuren Alchemie leaflet and information.

Pure, natural essential oils are a wonderful gift from mother nature. They are powerful products that should be handled with respect.

When used properly, essential oils are very safe and good for health and well-being, but in large amounts can be toxic and cause a health hazard. Therefore, the proper use and correct label on the essential oil are of great importance.

Essential oils have long been sold without any kind of warning label. Regulations have been introduced to make this compulsory. Bottle labels are provided with a number of warning symbols and warning texts. From June 2015, a new system has been introduced. The GHS labeling.

GHS (Global Harmonised System) also known as CLP (Classification and Labeling of Products) is a new global system for classifying and labeling hazardous substances and products. It is known that different countries consider the danger of certain substances to humans and/or the environment in dissimilar modes. The aim of GHS is to create clarity for users with regard to the risks associated with various substances.

Click here for central government information.

REACH stands for: Registration, Evaluation and Autorisation of Chemicals. It is a new European regulation which states that manufacturers, producers, importers and suppliers share knowledge about substances and products. The goal is to ensure that any hazardous substance coming to the market in Europe, includes ambiguous information regarding the risks for the user. These are detailed in the P and H-statements (Precautions and Hazards). The GHS label must contain at least the following information:

• Nominal amount of substance in the package that is being offered to the public
• Information about the supplier (name, address, telephone number)
• Product identification (eg. identification number and/or name)
• Hazard pictogram(s)
  
• Signal Word
  Danger
  Warning
• Hazard statement(s) (H-statements)
  For example: H317 Skin sensitisation, hazard category 1 – “May cause an allergic skin reaction.”
• Precaution statement(s) (P-statements)
  For example: P102 “Keep out of reach of children.”
• Additional information

The new labeling will, at first sight, seem unusual to us by the danger signs displayed, but this will be a useful source of information. It is advisable that consumers of specific substances (in this instance essential oils), are informed of the possible risks of these substances. It is an additional tool to educate the consumer as a user on the composition and possible properties of the oils.

NOTE: These warnings, however, must be understood and placed in the right context!

There are plant substances, which in small quantities are useful or pleasant, but toxic in larger amounts. Take caffeine as an example. A few cups of coffee are stimulating but drinking 100 cups of coffee in a short time may result in hospitalisation. This is more evident with caffeine in energy drinks. 1 is nice but after 5 potential heart problems are amplified with associated health issues/concerns. This is also the case with majority of essential oils. They are normally naturally strong but also natural chemicals, applied to the body can be suitable for health and wellbeing.