Amidst countless brands and products, how can we confidently choose the safest and highest quality essential oils? The answer lies with the Certificate of Analysis (COA), a pivotal document that brings transparency and trust to every drop of essential oil. This document serves as the basis for tracing the origin of raw materials and the essential oil production process, acting as proof of each product's quality, purity, and chemical composition.
What is COA?
Certificate of Analysis (COA) is a document issued by a manufacturer (mainly) or a third-party laboratory that certifies the quality and purity of a product. It's a detailed report of the tests performed on a batch of product and the results obtained, compared to the agreed-upon specifications.
COA is mandatory and must always be provided for the following product categories: cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, medicines, functional food, food, alcohol, chemicals, and similar regulated goods.
What does COA consist of?
In accordance with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, a COA is required to include the following basic information:
- Product identification: Product name, botanical name, batch number, and date of manufacture.
- Manufacturer/Laboratory Information: Name and contact details of the issuing entity.
- Test methods: The specific analytical methods used to test the product.
- Specifications: The acceptable limits or ranges for each tested parameter.
- Test results: The actual values obtained from the laboratory analysis for each parameter.
- Date of analysis and Issue: When the tests were performed and when the certificate was issued.
- Approval/Signature
A certificate of analysis of areme essential oil
Why is COA important?
COA is fundamental to both quality assurance and the authentication of essential oil products, providing crucial information across several key areas:
- Product authentication: COAs are crucial for verifying the authenticity of essential oils. They provide a comprehensive breakdown of chemical components, including the concentration of key compounds, which confirms the oil's claimed identity and quality. Furthermore, batch-specific COAs guarantee quality consistency between different production runs.
- Origin and production traceability: A comprehensive COA facilitates the traceability of raw material origins and manufacturing processes. Moreover, it serves as objective proof of product quality, bolstering customer confidence in their purchase.
- Regulatory compliance: The COA aids in locating the product code on import declarations, enabling both importing businesses and regulatory bodies to efficiently verify and compare products to ensure they meet circulation requirements.