Aromas and essential oils: how to detect adulterations?
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Aromas and essential oils are used in the composition of many products, from food processing to cosmetics, including perfumery and cleaning products. For industry professionals, verifying the origin and composition of these ingredients helps to guarantee the quality of raw materials and the reliability of finished products.
The addition of synthetic compounds, dilution, or substitution with less expensive raw materials can alter a product's composition and call into question its declared origin.
Several analytical methods can be used to examine these products. Chromatography provides information on their chemical composition, while carbon-14 dating and isotopic analysis offer complementary information on the origin of the carbon and the isotopic signature of the components.
In summary:
- Adulterations can alter the declared composition or origin of flavorings, essential oils, and perfumery ingredients.
- Chromatography, carbon-14 dating, and isotopic analysis provide different information about these products.
- The choice of methods depends on the nature of the sample and the question to be answered. Several analyses can be complementary.
Understanding the adulteration of flavors and essential oils
Why check their authenticity?
Manufacturers must be able to verify that the ingredients used correspond to the characteristics declared by their suppliers. Depending on the products and applications, checks may notably focus on the presence of unexpected substances, the origin of components, or the consistency of the information provided.
| Detect adulterations | Check the origin of the components | Secure quality and traceability |
| Identify certain additions, dilutions, or substitutions of components | Check the consistency between the declared origin and that of the raw materials | Strengthen quality controls and substantiate natural origin claims |
What methods can detect adulterations?
Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
This scientific technique allows for the analysis of the chemical composition of aromas, essential oils, and perfuming ingredients. Chromatography separates the compounds present in the sample, while mass spectrometry contributes to their identification.
Chemical profile analysis can identify certain unexpected compounds, foreign substances, or differences compared to a reference composition. This information can help manufacturers investigate potential adulteration in ingredients used in the food, cosmetic, perfume, or cleaning product industries.
However, GC-MS does not always allow distinguishing a molecule of natural origin from the same molecule obtained by synthesis. Therefore, additional analyses may be necessary to further verify its origin.
Carbon-14 dating
Carbon-14 allows us to distinguish carbon from recent biomass from carbon of fossil origin. Plants and living organisms naturally contain carbon-14, while fossil materials, formed millions of years ago, contain virtually none.
Applied to flavors, essential oils, and perfuming ingredients, carbon-14 analysis allows for the evaluation of the proportion of biogenic carbon in a sample. It can notably highlight a contribution of fossil carbon in a product presented as being of natural origin.
This measure provides an objective element for examining certain naturalness claims. However, it does not, on its own, allow for the identification of substances responsible for the presence of fossil carbon or the determination of the origin of all product ingredients.
Isotope analysis
Isotopic analysis consists of measuring the ratios between different isotopes of the same chemical element. The isotopic ratios of carbon, hydrogen, or oxygen can vary depending on the origin of raw materials, environmental conditions, and certain manufacturing processes.
By studying these signatures, complementary information is provided on the analyzed ingredients. It can notably help to compare a sample with known references and to identify certain inconsistencies that could guide the search for adulteration.
Interpretation depends on the nature of the product, the isotopes measured, and the available reference data. Isotopic analysis can contribute to provenance studies, but does not systematically allow for the certain determination of a precise geographical origin.
Which method to choose according to the need?
The choice of method depends on the question asked and the characteristics of the sample. The following table presents the main information provided by each technique and the points to consider when interpreting the results.
| Method | What it allows us to study | Point of attention |
| Chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) | The chemical composition and the profile of the compounds present | Does not always distinguish a natural molecule from its synthetic equivalent |
| Carbon-14 dating | The proportion of recent or fossil-derived carbon | Does not allow to identify alone the compounds responsible for the result |
| Isotopic analysis | Isotopic signatures that can provide information on the origin of raw materials or manufacturing processes | The interpretation depends on the product and the available references |
Why combine multiple analysis methods?
An anomaly in the composition of an ingredient is not always sufficient to determine its origin or confirm adulteration. Depending on the results obtained and the question posed, several methods can therefore be combined to deepen the analysis.
For example, GC-MS can highlight a difference in a product's chemical profile, while carbon-14 analysis provides information on the origin of the carbon present. Isotopic analysis can complement these results when the study of provenance or manufacturing processes requires it.
The choice of analyses depends on the nature of the sample and the information sought. This approach allows controls to be adapted to the needs of manufacturers, whether they work in the agri-food, cosmetics, perfumery, or cleaning products sectors.
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You may be asking yourself these questions about flavors and essential oils?
No. It primarily informs about the recent or fossil origin of the carbon present in the sample. It does not, on its own, allow for the identification of all added substances or all forms of adulteration.
This depends on its nature and origin. Chromatography can reveal certain unusual compounds or profiles, while carbon 14 can provide information about the origin of the carbon. Further analyses may be necessary.
It can contribute to this determination by comparing the isotopic signature of the sample to relevant references. The reliability of the conclusion depends in particular on the availability and representativeness of these references.
The methods are complementary: they do not measure the same characteristics. Their combination allows for a more complete understanding of the composition and origin of the components, depending on the control objectives.
No. It allows for the assessment of the origin of carbon, but does not in itself prove that all components meet a given definition of naturalness. Its results must be interpreted with other available analytical and regulatory information.
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