LB Processors Frequently Asked Questions

Make certain your emu oil meets AEA Emu Oil Trade Rules for fully refined emu oil and that it carries the AEA Certified Seal. When purchasing AEA Certified Emu Oil, we urge everyone to seek the truth by asking to be sure that the seal is displayed on the label and a batch number is on the bottle. You can also ask for a AOCS Certified Chemist tested certificate of analysis for the emu oil that you would like to buy from any AEA Certified Emu Oil suppliers.

The AEA Certification insures a safe product by being properly processed. The Certification gives a confidence that moisture and oxidation (rancidity components) properties are removed at the time of processing. Moisture has to be below 0.05% and oxidation properties: peroxide less than 2 and free fatty acids equal to or less than 0.1%.

WHY USE AEA CERTIFIED EMU OIL AND ANSWERS TO OTHER COMMON QUESTIONS:

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.

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.

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 %.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. The following table will give you an approximate pricing structure for the different grades of emu oil.

EMU OIL GRADE PRICE COMPARISON

  *Note Crude Emu Oil needs to be further processed before being utilized in cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and dietary supplement purposes due to the possibility of impurities*