What are CERTIFIED ORGANIC ESSENTIAL OILS

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What are CERTIFIED ORGANIC ESSENTIAL OILS

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Compiled by-Gurpreet Singh at earthyflavorance.biz

The procedures of “Organic certification” when applied to “growing and production” of Essential Oils, the said “Essential Oils” are said to be “Certified Organic”. Requirements vary from country to country, and generally involve a set of production standards for growing, storage, processing, packaging and shipping that include:

    * avoidance of most synthetic chemical inputs (e.g. fertilizer, pesticides, antibiotics, food additives, etc), genetically modified organisms, irradiation, and the use of sewage sludge;
    * use of farmland that has been free from synthetic chemicals for a number of years (often, three or more);
    * keeping detailed written production and sales records (audit trail);
    * maintaining strict physical separation of organic products from non-certified products;
    * undergoing periodic on-site inspections.

Purpose of certification

Organic certification addresses a growing worldwide demand for organic products, which also includes “Essential Oils”. It is intended to assure quality and prevent fraud, and to promote commerce. While such certification was not necessary in the early days of the organic movement, when small farmers would sell their produce directly at farmers' markets, as organics have grown in popularity, more and more consumers are purchasing organic essential oils through traditional channels, thus, consumers must rely on third-party regulatory certification.

For organic producers [growers of essential oil crops and distillers of essential oils] , certification identifies suppliers of products approved for use in certified operations. For consumers, "certified organic" label on the “Essential Oils” serves as a product assurance.

Certification is essentially aimed at regulating and facilitating the sale of organic essential oils to consumers. Individual certification bodies have their own service marks, which can act as branding to consumers—a certifier may promote the high consumer recognition value of its logo as a marketing advantage to producers. Most UK certification bodies operate organic standards that meet the UK government's minimum requirements. Some certification bodies, such as the Soil Association, certify to higher standards.

Third party certification process

To certify a farm, the farmer is typically required to engage in a number of new activities, in addition to normal farming operations:

    * Study the organic standards, which cover in specific detail what is and is not allowed for every aspect of farming [growing of essential oil crops].
    * Compliance — farm facilities and production methods [distillation of Essential Oils] must comply with the standards, which may involve modifying facilities, sourcing and changing suppliers, etc.
    * Documentation — extensive paperwork is required, detailing farm history and current set-up, and usually including results of soil and water tests.
    * Planning — a written annual production plan must be submitted, detailing everything from seed to sale: seed sources, field and crop locations, fertilization and pest control activities, harvest methods, storage locations, distillation facilities etc.
    * Inspection — annual on-farm inspections are required, with a physical tour, examination of records, and an oral interview.
    * Record-keeping — written, day-to-day farming and marketing records, covering all activities, must be available for inspection at any time.

In addition, short-notice or surprise inspections can be made, and specific tests (e.g. soil, water, plant tissue) may be requested.

For first-time farm certification, the soil must meet basic requirements of being free from use of prohibited substances (synthetic chemicals, etc) for a number of years. A conventional farm must adhere to organic standards for this period, often, two to three years. This is known as being in transition. Transitional crops are not considered fully organic.

Certification & product labeling

In some countries, organic standards are formulated and overseen by the government. The United States, the European Union, Canada and Japan have comprehensive organic legislation, and the term "organic" may be used only by certified producers. Being able to put the word "organic" on any essential oil is a valuable marketing advantage in today's consumer market, but does not guarantee the product is legitimately organic. Certification is intended to protect consumers from misuse of the term, and make buying organics easy. However, the organic labeling made possible by certification itself usually requires explanation.

Internationally, equivalency negotiations are underway, and some agreements are already in place, to harmonize certification between countries, facilitating international trade. There are also international certification bodies, including members of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) working on harmonization efforts. Where formal agreements do not exist between countries, organic product for export is often certified by agencies from the importing countries, who may establish permanent foreign offices for this purpose.

In the US, federal organic legislation defines three levels of organics. Synergies and mixtures of Essential oils made entirely with certified organic ingredients and methods can be labeled "100% organic". Products with at least 95% organic ingredients can use the word "organic". Both of these categories may also display the USDA organic seal. A third category, containing a minimum of 70% organic ingredients, can be labeled "made with organic ingredients". In addition, products may also display the logo of the certification body that approved them. Products made with less than 70% organic ingredients can not advertise this information to consumers and can only mention this fact in the product's ingredient statement. Similar percentages and labels apply in the EU.

In the US, the National Organic Program (NOP), was enacted as federal legislation in Oct. 2002. It restricts the use of the term "organic" to certified organic producers (excepting growers selling under $5,000 a year, who must still comply and submit to a records audit if requested, but do not have to formally apply). Certification is handled by state, non-profit and private agencies that have been approved by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In Canada, certification was implemented at the federal level on June 30, 2009. Mandatory certification is required for agricultural products represented as organic in import, export and inter-provincial trade, or that bear the federal organic logo.[4] In Quebec, provincial legislation provides government oversight of organic certification within the province, through the Quebec Accreditation Board (Conseil D'Accréditation Du Québec).

EU countries acquired comprehensive organic legislation with the implementation of the EU-Eco-regulation 1992. Supervision of certification bodies is handled on the national level. In March 2002 the European Commission issued a european-wide label for organic products however for most of the countries it was not able to replace existing national product labels. It was re-launched in 2009 with a design competition for a new logo and the final logo was chosen through a public vote online.

The European organic food label has been mandatory throughout the EU since July 2010. Originally it was planned to replace the old national organic labels but it was finally decided to allow for a transition period where both the EU label and the national labels may be used to mark organic food. The new logo is a green rectangle that shows twelve stars (from the European flag) placed such that they form the shape of a leaf in the wind. Unlike earlier labels no words are presented on the label lifting the requirement for translations referring to organic food certification.

In the United Kingdom, organic certification is handled by a number of organizations, regulated by The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), of which the largest are the Soil Association and Organic Farmers and Growers.

In Sweden, organic certification is handled by the organisation with members such as farmers, processors, trade and also consumer, environmental and animal welfare interests.[7]

In Ireland, organic certification is available from the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association

In Greece, organic certification is available from eight (8) organizations approved by EU. The major of them are BIOHELLAS and the DIO

In France, organic certification was introduced in 1985. It has established a green-white logo of "AB - agriculture biologique". The certification for the AB label fulfills the EU regulations for organic products, including essential oils. The certification process is overseen a public institute ("Agence française pour le développement et la promotion de l'agriculture biologique" usually shortended to "Agence bio") established in November 2001. The actual certification authorities include a number of different institutes like Aclave, Agrocert, Ecocert SA, Qualité France SA, Ulase, SGS ICS.

In Belgium, a similar process as in France is being used where certification of the "Biogarantie" label is overseen by the public "association sans but lucratif" (ASBL) administration. This administration does exist since 27. June 1921 and it was reformed on 2. May 2002 to take over the new responsibilities of the label certification.

In Germany the national label was introduced in September 2001 following in the footsteps of the political campaign of "Agrarwende" (agricultural major shift) led by minister Renate Künast of the Greens party. This campaign was started after the mad-cow disease epidemic in 2000. The effects on farming are still challenged by other political parties. The national "Bio"-label in its hexagon green-black-white shape has gained wide popularity - in 2007 there were 2431 companies having certified 41708 products. The popularity of the label is extending to neighbouring countries like Austria, Switzerland and France.

In the German-speaking countries there have been older non-government organizations that had issued labels for organic food long before the advent of the EU organic food regulations. Their labels are still used widely as they significantly exceed the requirements of the EU regulations. An organic food label like "demeter" from Demeter International has been in use since 1928 and this label is still regarded as providing the highest standards for organic food in the world. Other active NGOs include Biokreis, Bioland, Biopark, Ecoland, Ecovin, Gäa e.V. and Naturland.

Other Countries

In Japan, the Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS) was fully implemented as law in April, 2001. This was revised in November 2005 and all JAS certifiers were required to be re-accredited by the Ministry of Agriculture.

In Australia, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) is the controlling body for organic certification because there are no domestic standards for organic produce within Australia. Currently the government only becomes involved with organic certification at export, meaning AQIS is the default certification agency. Although there is no system for monitoring the labeling of organic produce sold within Australia, this primarily affects the retail public. Commercial buyers for whom this is an issue have simply taken the export system as a de facto standard and are willing to pay premium prices for produce from growers certified under the National schemes. As of 2006, there are seven AQIS-approved certifying organisations authorised to issue .

In India, APEDA regulates the certification of organic products as per National Standards for Organic Production. "The NPOP standards for production and accreditation system have been recognized by European Commission and Switzerland as equivalent to their country standards. Similarly, USDA has recognized NPOP conformity assessment procedures of accreditation as equivalent to that of US. With these recognitions, Indian organic products duly certified by the accredited certification bodies of India are accepted by the importing countries.

In China, the China Green Food Development Center awards two Standards: A and AA; while the former standard does permit some use of synthetic agricultural chemicals, the latter is more stringent

 

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Ethnic Paintings, Patua Paintings- Gauri’s Cottage Emporium at earthyflavorance.biz

From Evernote:

Ethnic Paintings, Patua Paintings- Gauri’s Cottage Emporium at earthyflavorance.biz

Key Words- Ethnic Paintings, Patua Paintings- Gauri’s Cottage Emporium at earthyflavorance.biz
Tags- Ethnic Paintings, Patua Paintings- Gauri’s Cottage Emporium at earthyflavorance.biz
Compiled by- Gurpreet Singh

Scroll Paintings in different parts of the world, especially China and Japan, have been associated with the history and culture of these civilizations. Scroll Paintings in West Bengal too are a part of an elaborate cultural performance, where they are unrolled while the story accompanying the pictures is sung. Known as Patua Paintings they narrate mythological and historical stories.
The Chitrakars belong to the Newah or Newar lingual community of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. Traditionally, they are painters and mask-makers. In Nepal Bhasa, the mother tongue of the Newars, this caste is called "Puun". When the Newar culture became Sanskritized, the last name Chitrakar was adopted. "Chitr" in Sanskrit means image and "akar" stands for shape. The literal translation of the word Chitrakar is imagemaker. The Puuns or Chitrakars paint Paubas ( Thankas in Tibetan ) used in prayer rooms and murals in temples, make masks used for ritual dances and woodblock prints used at festivals. The craft is handed down from father to son. Women generally play a secondary role in the artistic ventures.

Although, with the advent of the modern world, the Caste System is eroding in Kathmandu, there are still some Puun/Chitrakar families following their traditional role as artists. The Puuns/Chitrakars practice both Buddhism and Hinduism with an emphasis on Tantrism.

The word "Puun" seems to be derived from Pali/Sanskrit word "puantra"/"pattua" or "scrolls/fabric". The religious painting called "Paubhas" is also a derivative of the "Puantra/Pattua". These paintings are normally done over fabric.

Apart from Nepal, Patua painting or Patachitra is also an important element in Bengali cultural heritage. This art form flourished particularly during the Buddhist period in Bengal and normally carried the life sketch of the Buddha and his sayings and anecdotes. Later Patas show Hindu tradition. After about eight century AD, Use of patas dwindled in Bengal. It was only after about this time that saw the widespread use of pattas/paubhas (paining) in the Kathmandu Valley(Nepal). There is a particular Chitrakar/Patua or painter community in West Bengal who still practise folk paintings in long scrolls. This community during Medieval times was stratified within a caste system based on professional hierarchies in the Hindu society. Few members of this community also follow Islam at present. The Patua’s of Mednipore (West Bengal) have practiced this art for centuries and have adapted their art form according to the needs of the time. This capacity to adapt has ensured survival of this indigenous art forms.

Pataua Paintings, which were originally religious naratives are sheets of paper sewn together and painted upon. These scrolls narrate mythological stories and in recent times they have incorporated other themes to cater to the changing taste of their customers. Contemporary Pataua Paintings have a historical, social or an ecological theme.
They were once painted on cloth, but are now executed on cheap handmade paper. The scrolls are almost always un-mounted. Coming in various sizes, Patua Paintings are divided into vertical and horizontal compartments, each narrating a different episode of the story.

See some pictures at


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Organic Mentha Piperita Oil, Peppermint Oil- earthyflavorance.biz

Keywords- Organic Mentha Piperita Oil, Peppermint Oil, Certified Organic Essential Oils, earthyflavorance.biz

Tags- Organic Peppermint Oil, Organic Mentha Piperita Oil

Contributed by-Gurpreet Singh

This post is about Organic Mentha Piperita, which is one of our crops at Guroo Farms, India.

Commercially known as Organic Peppermint Oil, it is derived by steam-distillation of the herb, at flowering stage. In India, Mentha Piperita is a “rabi” crop, planted in winters and harvested in June/July.

Plant. – Mentha Piperita is a Perennial herb, possibly from M. hirsu'ta, Water Mint, by cultivation; rootstock creeping, producing long suckers by which it multiplies; stem square, purplish, .6-1.3 M. 2-4°) high. Leaves, ovate-oblong, 1-9 Cm. (2/5/3 3/5") long, petiole 4-15 Mm. (1/6-3/5") long, pubescent, acute, sharply serrate, light green, purplish-brown, upper surface nearly glabrous, lower surface glandular, hairy, especially on veins; more or less crumpled and frequently detached from stems, which are quadrangular, 1-2 Mm. (1/25-1/2") thick, glabrous except for a few scattered deflexed hairs; flower-whorls in oblong (oval) spikes which are usually compact, or somewhat interrupted at base, 1-1.5 Cm. (2/5-3/5) broad, rounded at summit, and in fruit 3-7 Cm. (1 1/5 - 2 4/5') long; bracts oblong-lanceolate, very acuminate, 7 Mm. (J') long, calyx tubular, equally 5-toothed, pubescent, glandular-punctate, often dark purplish; corolla tubular-campanulate, 4-cleft, 3 Mm. (I') long, often light purple; stamens 4, short; nutlets ellipsoidal, .5 Mm. (-5V) thick, blackish-brown ; odor aromatic, characteristic; taste aromatic, pungent, followed by cooling sensation in the mouth.

mentha piperita plant earthyflavorance.biz_thumb[1] Peppermint typically occurs in moist habitats, including stream sides and drainage ditches. Being a hybrid, it is usually sterile, producing no seeds and reproducing only vegetatively, spreading by its rhizomes. If placed, it can grow anywhere, with a few exceptions

mentha piperita flowering top earthyflavorance.biz_thumbThe volatile oil, [ Essential Oil of mentha Piperita] is distilled from the flowering plant (fresh or partly dried) by steam distillation. Itis a colorless liquid, strong odor of peppermint, pungent taste, followed by a sensation of cold upon drawing air into the mouth; soluble in 4 vols, of 70 p. c. alcohol, showing not more than slight opalescence and no separation of oil globules, sp. gr. 0.902, laevorotatory; contains 16 constituents: at least 5 p. c. of esters, calculated as menthyl acetate, C10H19C2H3O2, and 35 to 50 p. c. of total menthol, free and as esters; also acetic and isovaleric acids, acetaldehyde, isovaleric aldehyde, amyl alcohol, pinene, phellandrene, limonene, C10H16, menthone, C10H18O, menthyl iso-valerate, menthyl ester, cadinene, C15H24, a lactone, dimethyl sulphide; the hydrocarbons holding menthol dissolved are mainly the several terpenes (English - pinene, phellandrene, sesquiterpene; Japanese - sesquiterpene alone) with carvene odor, the higher boiling ones, C15H24, having less pleasant odor; menthol and its esters (first 2 constituents) are most important, the others occurring in small quantities, being objectionable for flavoring.

Peppermint has a long tradition of medicinal use, with archaeological evidence placing its use at least as far back as ten thousand years ago. Peppermint has a high menthol content, and is often used as tea and for flavouring ice cream, confectionery, chewing gum, and toothpaste. The oil also contains menthone and menthyl esters, particularly menthyl acetate.[10] It is the oldest and most popular flavour of mint-flavoured confectionery. Peppermint can also be found in some shampoos and soaps, which give the hair a minty scent and produce a cooling sensation on the skin.

Safety Information
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) includes peppermint on its list of spices and other natural seasonings and flavoring considered Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS). Peppermint is also on the list of GRAS essential oils, oleoresins and natural extractives.

The safety of Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf, and Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Water has been assessed by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel. The CIR Expert Panel evaluated the scientific data and concluded that Peppermint (Mentha Piperita) Oil, Peppermint (Mentha Piperita) Extract, Peppermint (Mentha Piperita) Leaves, and Peppermint (Mentha Piperita) Water were safe as used in cosmetics and personal care products. The concentration of pulegone (a natural component) in these ingredients should not exceed 1%.

Aromatic Description: Minty, reminiscent of peppermint candies, but more concentrated. More fragrant than spearmint.
    Peppermint
   

Possible Uses: Asthma, colic, exhaustion, fever, flatulence, headache, nausea, scabies, sinusitis, vertigo. [Julia Lawless, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils (Rockport, MA: Element Books, 1995), 59-67.]

Safety Information: Avoid in cardiac fibrillation, epilepsy, fever. Mucous membrane irritant and neurotoxic (toxic to the nerves). Some of this information applies to oral use, but is provided for informational purposes (no essential oil should be taken internally without the guidance of a qualified aromatherapy practitioner). [Robert Tisserand, Essential Oil Safety (United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone, 1995), 160.]

Disclaimer-The FDA has not evaluated the statements on this website. No claims are made as to any medicinal value of this oil. The information presented here is for educational purposes of traditional uses and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases.

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