From filling a bottle in the attic to a proper business that has to comply with a whole host of laws and regulations… That’s quite a task to get started with, but perhaps an even bigger one to keep track of everything and document it all. That’s why we have, amongst others, Lisa, our quality manager, who keeps a close and careful eye on quality together with all her colleagues in the team!
What exactly is quality management?
The term ‘quality management’ probably gives you a rough idea of what it involves. Someone who keeps an eye on the quality of the products. But it goes so much further than that and encompasses so much more… It’s also about ensuring the correct safety data sheets are available for every incoming and outgoing product. For example, there is a safety data sheet for every single oil, listing its exact ingredients. As we then use these oils to create blends, there must also be an accurate safety data sheet for every blend.
By ‘incoming products’, we mean the raw materials we use to make our special products. Lisa checks these products against various criteria before we are allowed to use them.
Incoming raw materials
When we receive a delivery of our raw materials, they are first checked for colour and smell. We have a test folder containing a test tube for every single oil, so that we can compare the newly arrived oil with these. And then it’s all down to our noses… Checking by smelling! We don’t mind that at all! We also receive information about the oil from the supplier, which allows us to check whether it meets the required quality standards.
Once the oil has passed inspection, the bottle is given a batch code and a sticker showing the date of receipt.
When an oil does not comply with our rules
If the raw material we receive does not meet our requirements, it is simply sent back to the supplier. However, this does mean that we then have to look for an alternative, which is not always easy. Oil is a natural product, which means its quality can sometimes vary. As a result, we may suddenly have to remove a single-note oil from our range. We then use any remaining stock to incorporate into our blends so that we can continue to produce our main product, the ‘scent frequencies’.
As soon as a high-quality replacement has been found, the single-origin oil will be back online. Sometimes this takes a little longer because, for example, we want to have an oil analysed once we have found it from a new supplier. To ensure its authenticity and quality, a sample of the oil is first sent to the laboratory. Only once it has been tested and we have received the relevant documentation do we decide whether or not to stock that oil.
Batch codes and rules of that sort
You’ll often see a batch code printed on a bottle. This means that we can use this code to trace which raw materials were used. This is important so that we can retrieve information in the event of any complaints from a customer regarding the quality of a product. So every bottle, sachet, etc. of a raw material is given a batch code. These codes are then recorded in our system when these products are used in a finished product. A new code is generated for this, which you’ll find on the product itself, and we’ll have it in our system. It is therefore a major undertaking, which was initiated under Lisa’s supervision and is being carried out with great care and attention by our colleagues in the production department. We also work with best-before dates, which are closely monitored.
Product testing
As we come up with new ideas quite often, Lisa never runs out of things to test 😉. Testing shelf life, usability and, of course, all the new essential oils in our range is also part of our quality management process. For example, Lisa tests our balms for shelf life. The balms are stored and used in various ways, in order to see what happens to the balm over a longer period of time.
Safety symbols on the bottles
At De Groene Linde, we adhere to the GHS legislation, a global system for the classification of hazards associated with substances. Under this legislation, we are obliged to display hazard symbols on our bottles. These symbols are determined by the chemical compounds that occur naturally in essential oils. We certainly agree that you need to be careful with this concentrated product. And it’s good to be aware of this so that you don’t simply apply any oil to your skin. But sometimes it does feel a bit strange to put a hazard symbol on such a lovely product.
Fortunately, we are only dealing with small quantities of oil, and provided you use it correctly and safely, there is certainly no harm in finding support in these lovely products. This legislation does not take dosage into account. We are therefore required to display the same labelling on our 10 ml bottles as is required on a 1,000-litre drum.
The Icons
This icon indicates that the product contains substances which, in large quantities, may cause environmental damage.
If you see this symbol on our products, you’re probably holding a spray. This symbol indicates that the product contains highly flammable or flammable substances. You can well imagine that a spray containing alcohol – so that you can spray the oil around you – is highly flammable.
This icon indicates that if you inhale this substance, it could cause lung damage. We therefore advise against ingesting the oil under any circumstances. For more information on this, please read our special blog post on the topic ‘’Should you take essential oil or not?’.
This symbol indicates that this product contains irritants which may be harmful. We therefore always recommend diluting the essential oil with a carrier oil before applying it to the skin.
The ‘corrosive’ hazard symbol indicates that the product is corrosive to the skin and eyes and may cause burns. This is yet another reason why we advise against ever applying an essential oil undiluted to the skin.
Health and safety in the workplace
As well as ensuring the safety of our customers, it is also important that our staff are able to carry out their work safely. And as well as safety, this also relates to hygiene, which means we can put our products on the shelves with confidence. That is why there are certain rules in our production department.
𝙷𝚎𝚝 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚗 𝚟𝚊𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚗 𝚎𝚗 𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚕𝚊𝚋 𝚓𝚊𝚜
As mentioned earlier, you cannot apply an essential oil directly to the skin in its pure form. It is therefore very important for our staff to protect their skin from any splashes of oil. They therefore wear special long-sleeved lab coats and gloves whilst filling the bottles. This ensures that the oil cannot come into contact with the skin.
𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗 𝚟𝚊𝚜𝚝!
Just a typical hygiene thing – keeping our hair tied back whilst making our products!
𝙰𝚏𝚣𝚞𝚒𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚙 𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚐!
And, of course, there is a special extraction system above each workstation which ensures that any dust and odours released are immediately drawn into the extraction system. This system runs all day long and also filters the air, ensuring that the room is supplied with fresh air throughout the day.
Of course, there are many other things we pay attention to throughout the entire process, from the arrival of the raw materials right through to the finished product. We hope that, after reading this blog, you’ll have a better understanding of our processes and what we stand for: quality!
𝙻𝚒𝚎𝚏𝚜 𝚁𝚎𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚌𝚊
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