Ensuring Purity - Cork, Ireland Manufacturing Facility (deutsch)

<<0>> Hello, my name is Minas, I am the

<<2>> production manager here at doTERRA

<<4>> Ireland. I would like to introduce you to one of

<<6>> our leading chemists on site,

<<7>> my colleague Kelly, who is here with us

<<11>> today. So, for those who didn't

<<12>> hear, our newest facility

<<15>> was opened in October 2020, and our

<<17>> goal is to produce over 90

<<20>> different oils for the European

<<21>> market by the end of 2021.

<<22>> However, we don't just have a

<<23>> production facility in Ireland; we

<<25>> also have a laboratory to monitor

<<27>> quality, and that is an important

<<28>> aspect. Yes, we even have a laboratory

<<31>> that is state-of-the-art,

<<33>> right here on site, which

<<34>> is further divided into two areas:

<<35>> a chemical and a micro-

<<38>> microbiological laboratory. We test everything

<<40>> that comes here, from raw materials when they

<<43>> first arrive for a blend, to the

<<45>> finished product, ensuring the purity of the

<<47>> oil throughout its entire life cycle.

<<50>> We perform various tests on

<<52>> site, including analytical tests like HPLC,

<<55>> GC-MS, ICP. For all of them, we use the

<<58>> mass detector, which improves sensitivity

<<60>> and therefore our results.

<<61>> After that, we perform concentration and

<<63>> purity tests. These include

<<66>> refractive index, optical rotation, and

<<68>> specific gravity, and we do our FTIR

<<70>> tests, which are all FTIR, and

<<73>> organoleptic tests, and we will now describe them

<<75>> in detail. The organoleptic tests

<<78>> are divided into three tests, so we have

<<80>> appearance, color, and smell. Yes, we have two samples here, and I

<<84>> have covered the labels.

<<86>> One was purchased online, and the

<<90>> other is one of our oils.

<<92>> Okay, so the first test we perform

<<95>> is for appearance. The idea is that we

<<97>> have specifications for all of our oils.

<<98>> Therefore, for this specific oil,

<<100>> the standard says it should be a semi-opaque,

<<103>> mobile liquid. So,

<<105>> the first thing we do when you take it here

<<107>> out of the holder is hold it

<<109>> against this white paper to

<<110>> ensure there are no particles or anything.

<<112>> Well, yes, it is clear, semi-opaque, with

<<116>> a good viscosity. Next is the color.

<<119>>

<<120>> According to the specs for this oil,

<<123>> it says it can be pale to light yellow.

<<125>> What do you see? It looks like it is

<<129>> very, very light yellow. Next is

<<132>> smell. Smell is one of the

<<135>> most important characteristics.

<<136>> So what we do is waft it towards

<<138>> the nose and check if it is the oil it

<<141>> should be. This is delicate and lingers.

<<144>> And even when I move it away, I can

<<147>> still smell it on my palate.

<<149>> Okay, does that make sense? No, that's good,

<<151>> it's good. Yes, it's good, so I won't say

<<155>> anything until we have compared it with the other one.

<<157>> That is sample B, yes.

<<159>> So, appearance again: it should be a

<<161>> semi-opaque, mobile liquid.

<<164>> It looks similar to the first sample. Is it

<<167>> semi-opaque and mobile? Perfect. Then

<<170>> color-wise, it is similar again, maybe slightly

<<172>> lighter, but similar. Okay, now the smell.

<<176>> So, waft it towards the nose again.

<<182>> That is quite sharp and intense,

<<186>> but it disappears, it disappears

<<187>> very quickly now, as if it has completely

<<189>> vanished. Okay, yes, if you bring the

<<191>> two together so that you

<<194>> can see the difference side-by-side,

<<195>> looking at the color, the semi-opaque,

<<197>> mobile liquid, the sample

<<200>> here on my right is slightly darker.

<<202>> Yes, both are mobile, yes, but I

<<205>> think that is one of the main factors to

<<208>> recognize whether an oil is natural or

<<209>> synthetic. Both look very similar,

<<211>> but the main difference is the

<<213>> smell. With a natural product, you know

<<216>> the oil is a bit soft when

<<218>> it first reaches the nose,

<<220>> and the smell lingers; the smell

<<222>> remains in the nose for a while afterward.

<<224>> With synthetic oil,

<<227>> on the other hand, you get a sharp,

<<229>> intense smell that you notice immediately,

<<231>> but it disappears just as quickly as

<<234>> you noticed it. That is the

<<236>> main difference between a

<<237>> synthetic and a natural oil.

<<239>> Visually, they are identical; without

<<242>> further testing, it is difficult to tell

<<243>> the difference, which one is actually

<<245>> pure and which is synthetically produced.

<<247>>

<<251>> After the organoleptic test, the next

<<255>> test we perform is to

<<256>> identify and quantify molecular compounds.

<<260>>

<<261>> In simple terms, an identity

<<263>> test is like a fingerprint. Yes, very much like

<<265>> a fingerprint, exactly. What happens

<<267>> when you have the equipment is you

<<269>> place the oil on the prism, and the infrared

<<272>> light passes through it and hits

<<276>> the detector, and then a

<<277>> unique fingerprint spectrum is created for

<<279>> these components. So, every

<<281>> different component in the oil has its

<<283>> own spectrum. Can we tell this way

<<285>> which oil is pure and which is not?

<<286>> Yes, that's how you find out, and there is a standard for all

<<289>> of our oils. For example, if we

<<292>> take a Lavender (Lavender) oil,

<<293>> we have the standard

<<295>> available. The sample of the Lavender (Lavender) must

<<297>> match the standard by 95% or more.

<<299>> So, we tested both oils using FTIR.

<<302>> The result was: for our own

<<305>> Lavender (Lavender) oil, we got 99%

<<307>> back. The purchased oil, I can't

<<310>> find even the slightest match for Lavender (Lavender),

<<312>> even though we purchased it as

<<314>> Lavender (Lavender) oil. We had bought a

<<316>> Lavender (Lavender) oil. That's interesting, yes. It

<<319>> does not correspond in any way to our

<<321>> Lavender (Lavender), which is unusual

<<323>> if only one petroleum product was detected, and

<<326>> the other is a mixture, which suggests

<<328>> that the other oil is a combination

<<330>> of many other substances, as opposed

<<332>> to simple Lavender (Lavender) oil. Very

<<333>> interesting.

<<338>> After finding out that it was not what

<<340>> we expected, the next test

<<342>> would be a GC-MS.

<<344>> GC-MS is an abbreviation for

<<347>> gas chromatography. What a GC-MS does is

<<350>> identify individual components of a sample.

<<352>> Now we know for sure it doesn't match,

<<354>> and it doesn't match the Lavender (Lavender) standard.

<<357>> The next

<<358>> step is to determine exactly

<<360>> which components it is

<<362>> composed of. Okay, GC-MS

<<364>> consists of two steps. We have

<<366>> the stationary phase and the mobile

<<369>> phase. The stationary phase is in the column.

<<373>> For our test, we use helium. We

<<375>> inject the oil into the column, the gas moves

<<378>> the sample through the column to the

<<379>> detector, and then the detector prints out a

<<382>> chromatogram. These are

<<386>> two results we got from the oils.

<<389>> The peaks are all the components present in the oil.

<<392>> Here, there is a specific

<<394>> peak you can see; it is

<<396>> isopropyl alcohol. It is not in our oil, but

<<401>> in the synthetic one, and not

<<403>> in our natural oil. That is a major

<<405>> indicator to know whether an oil is

<<407>> natural or has been synthetically, chemically modified.

<<409>> This peak here

<<411>> is one of them, isopropyl alcohol. It

<<414>> is widely used in the

<<416>> cosmetics industry, in medicine, for example,

<<418>> surface treatment, where rapid absorption

<<420>> is desired. So it is added

<<423>> chemically. As you can see, it makes up

<<425>> a large amount, and I think

<<428>> in this synthetic oil, you are buying 40%

<<429>> alcohol instead of Lavender (Lavender). In our

<<432>> oil, it is of course not present

<<433>> because it is 100% pure.

<<436>> Why do we go to all this trouble?

<<438>> Why is quality control so important? It is

<<440>> very important for any successful

<<441>> company to guarantee quality

<<442>> and ensure that products going to

<<446>> our customers meet and even

<<448>> exceed their expectations.

<<450>> Quality controls are there to

<<452>> guarantee safety and high

<<454>> efficacy. This gives us the

<<456>> confidence to know that the oils and

<<458>> products reaching our customers are of the

<<460>> highest quality out there, and

<<462>> we are proud of that. Well, Kelly, I

<<465>> must thank you. It was very helpful

<<467>> that you, as our lead chemist here on site,

<<468>> explained some of the tests that

<<471>> are necessary, why we perform them,

<<472>> and what that means not only for

<<475>> us, but also for our customers in the field.

<<477>>