Everything You Need to Know About GC/MS Reports

You’re looking at a new essential oil company and see they have GC/MS reports. You click on them, but you really can’t make heads or tails of what they actually mean. Trust me, I’ve been there. And honestly I am still there. I’m not sure I am the best person to be doing a blog post like this, but if I am able to understand a report even a little than anyone can. You don’t need to be a scientist to know what to look for, and they aren’t too complicated to be able to look for the key information to know if the essential oil you want to buy is good. For the sake of this blog we are going to be going over a Plant Therapy GC/MS report for Cardamom lot CA3100 which you can find here. So feel free to open that and follow along with this blog post, it’s just easier to link this than try and download a picture of one and insert it into the blog, although. I will still have a sample one so people know what they look like in general. Each company will have a different looking report but they should still contain what the essential oil is made up of, who signed off on the report and if they contain anything else besides pure essential oil. Also make sure to get the correct report for the correct batch. If you are having issues with this customer service should be able to help in most cases/companies. A lot of times unfortunately you won’t be able to get the specific batch number until you purchase the oil, but companies should still offer the reports online which should include current and past reports (I think they stretch back at least 2 years).

First; look for the essential oil name, Latin name and country of origin for the essential oil. If any of these are missing, red flag and honestly I wouldn’t purchase them. This tell us exactly what essential oil this is.

Second; look for any adulterations. You could look at each individual constituent, and you would probably have to google each one as well, or you could scroll down to the bottom and see the conclusion on the report and see that it either has adulterations or no adulterations. This is the simplest way, and it’s super easy to do. Most companies are not going to sell an oil that contains adulterants but in the event that one does make sure you know how much of the oil is contaminated and whether you are comfortable purchasing. 

Next look up what the essential oil is made of, you don’t need to be an expert to know this but it does help to be aware of the main components of certain oils. For example the Cardamom from Plant Therapy has a main component of 1,8 Cineole BUT their cardamom contains less 1,8 Cineole than other brands. Does this mean it’s a fake? I reached out to Plant Therapy and found out that due to where this particular Cardamom is grown it contains about 5% less 1,8 Cineole than other Cardamoms. Plant Therapy is known for having batch specific oils, so while Cardamom is usually unsafe under the age of 10 Plant Therapy’s version is safe for ages 2+. You would have to consider if this is something you feel comfortable purchasing and using, but judging by the fact that they are open in the reports and when asked I have no doubt that this is the real deal. 

Basically with looking at the chemical components to certain essential oils, we can see if it matches up to what it’s supposed to be. This isn’t really something that we have to know or even do, but it does help when looking at essential oils. Especially those that are marked kid safe. High 1,8 Cineole oils are not kid safe, so if an oil is marketed as kid safe and contains above 35% 1,8 Cineole it is not safe for kids. It’s just something to be aware of. I am certainly not an expert in chemical components of essential oils, and I really wish I was able to just list them off the top of my head so you know what to look for, but being aware and just knowing the percentage that oils contain is a great start. More so we are looking for open honesty with these reports and if you have questions customer service should be able to help, at the very least they won’t just shut you down and should be willing to provide the information. If you do have any questions about the chemical components in an essential oil (if they are safe for kids or not) feel free to reach out to me and I can help you to the best of my ability.

Lastly, we should look and see that this report was looked at and signed off by an analyst. You do not have to know them personally, but googling them might not be a bad idea. A quick copy and past search of this report show us that the analyst is someone in France (judging by the French used) and they do indeed specialize in chemical quality control of natural products. So that would include essential oils. Basically whatever a company is claiming should add up, if you can’t find anything at all about this person I would maybe think it was forged. But since the person showed up in a search I am comfortable with this report. 

And that is all I really look for in my GC/MS reports, while they do include the test results, I am not a scientist so I don’t really understand them. But I feel that I don’t have to understand the actual report portion, so long as the company is honest and open about the results. Plant Therapy is honest about theirs, other companies are as well. So I look for these main things making sure it’s pure, has the information needed to ID the essential oil and is able to tell me what chemical components make up the oil (for safety purposes although unless you are wanting to use an essential oil normally not age appropriate for someone this isn’t as important) just so that I am familiar with what to look for and that I know what a report should be. And the analyst also needs to be able to be verified and check out. Once you are sure of all these things you are good to go.

And to be quite honest here, I do not look at these reports that often if I trust the company. Plant Therapy is honest, and they will do a recall if they feel they need to do so. I don’t doubt they’re honest even if I don’t actually look. With a new company I am more likely to look just to make sure. But I do not believe that reports should be withheld simply because someone might not understand. We can pinpoint the points we need to know without having to have a degree.