FAQs

1. What Is AEA (American Emu Association) Certified Emu Oil?

   AEA Certified Emu Oil is pure emu oil that has been tested at the time of processing by an AOCS (American Oil Chemist Society) certified chemist and has been certified to meet the stringent specifications for the Emu Oil Fully Refined Trade rules. This well- documented certification process ensures that the pure emu oil has been tested and has achieved the specifications of Fully-Refined Emu Oil and a sample is held in storage for each batch of pure emu oil that has achieved the Fully Refined Specifications. Only pure emu oil that has gone through this stringent evaluation process can carry the AEA Certification Seal.

2. What are the Emu Oil Trade Rules?

   The trade rules were established by the American Emu Association under the advisement and consultation of members of the American Oil Chemist Society. These rules were modeled after trade rules established by other natural oil industries, such as soybean, cotton seed, rice oil and so forth. These well-defined trade rules help the buyer know what grade of pure oil that they are purchasing. The Emu Oil Trade Rules are divided into three different grades, Crude Emu Oil, Once Refined Emu Oil and Fully Refined Emu Oil. These Emu Oil Trade Rules are defined and displayed on the AEA website at http://www.aea-emu.org.

3. What is Fully Refined Emu Oil?

   Pure Emu Oil that has been properly processed and has met the stringent specifications listed in the Fully Refined Trade Rules for moisture content below 0.10%, Peroxide (oxidation component) below 2 and Free Fatty Acid (oxidation component) below 0.10 %.

4. Why is Fully Refined Emu Oil Important?

   This Fully Refined designation or specification for pure emu oil is primarily for the safety of the consumer. If moisture is above the 0.10% level, bacteria will have a tendency to grow. By removing the peroxide and free fatty acids, other contamination components will be removed, for example; hormones, toxic metals, pesticides, viruses and infections (e-coli, salmonella for example that may have contaminated the raw material at the animal processing plants).

5. What Danger is it to use grades of pure emu oil that are not Fully Refined?

   Danger only exists when the pure emu oil is to be used on the human skin or is to be taken orally. If the pure emu oil is not Fully Refined, there is risk that the oil is contaminated or has not been sterilized. To be assured that you are purchasing Fully Refined Emu Oil, always look for the AEA Certification Seal on every bottle of Emu Oil that you buy. If the AEA Certification seal is not exhibited on the bottle of pure emu oil that you purchase, then you are merely taking the word of the seller that the grade of emu oil is what they are claiming.

6. Does High Temperature processing effect the Emu Oil’s anti-inflammatory activity?

   The University of Massachusetts studied the anti-inflammatory effects of Emu Oil through the typical soybean physical refining process. This study compared the anti-inflammatory activity of crude emu oil (emu fat that has been broken down at low temperatures) to the anti-inflammatory activity present after each processing step, water wash, bleaching, deodorization (steam strip and Molecular distillation). The results of this comparison study showed that there is no significant differences in the anti-inflammatory activity of emu oil rendered at low temperature and emu oil processed at temperatures above 450 degrees F. This study proved that taking emu oil to high temperatures does not significantly reduce any of the anti-inflammatory activities of the emu oil but the higher temperature does provide a much safer emu oil for human use.

7. Is the yellow shade Emu Oil better than white Emu Oil?

   The University of Massachusetts studied the anti-inflammatory effects of white Emu Oil compared to yellow Emu Oil and found no differences in the anti-inflammatory activities of the emu oil.

8. Is Australian Crude Emu Oil superior to American Crude Emu Oil?

   The University of Massachusetts compared the anti-inflammatory activity of the American Crude Emu Oil and the Australian Crude Emu Oil and found no differences. This past year, the American Emu Association gathered crude emu oil samples from 9 countries around the world, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand. These samples were gathered, tested and compared to the fatty acid analysis of American emu oil and the findings were that there are no significant differences in crude emu oil regardless of the country of origin.

9. Is there a difference in corn fed emus and other grain fed emus?

   From AEA studies, the feed was found to effect the color of the emu oil, but the feed does not effect the trans-dermal and anti-inflammatory activity.

10. Does an American farmer have to use wormers and anti-biotics since the emus are domestically raised in pens?

    Emus are different from many animals in that their body temperature is so high that medication and worming is not normally necessary. The emu is a very hearty animal that appears to be immune to most diseases that affect other livestock in America. The typical American farmer does not normally use any antibiotics on their farm raised emus as it is unnecessary and there hasn’t been sufficient research performed to identify the responsiveness of an emu to antibiotics. The typical American emu farmer does not use growth hormones or steroids on their farm raised emus as the feed industry has developed superior natural feeds that closely match the nutrition that the emu requires to obtain maximum weight and production.

11. Does Molecular Distillation of the Fully Refined emu oil make the oil safer or improve the oil?

    There has been no valid scientific research performed indicating that the additional step of Molecular Distillation of Fully-Refined emu oil improves the purity or the capabilities of emu oil. Since scientific research has not been able to identify the active ingredient in emu oil that gives emu oil its research proven capabilities, care must be taken in further processing of Fully-Refined emu oil to ensure that the emu oil capabilities are not removed or diminished. It is very possible that further refining of Fully-Refined emu oil by Molecular Distillation methods may remove additional component matter from the Fully-Refined emu oil, but there has been no scientific research conducted to prove that the performance of the resultant oil has or has not been altered or diminished by this additional processing step. Also, none of the removed component matter has been scientifically proven to be harmful or unnecessary. Currently, all scientific emu oil research at the University Of Massachusetts has been conducted using either crude emu oil or Fully-Refined emu oil. Until such time as valid research is presented and published in the scientific community, the additional step of Molecular Distilling Fully-Refined emu oil is deemed to be unnecessary.

12. Why are there so many price variations found for pure emu oil?

    Emu oil pricing is basically determined by the analytical analysis of the emu oil to be sold and market supply and demand. That analytical analysis of the emu oil to be sold will correspond to one of the Trade Rule specifications designated by the American Emu Association.