Photo: Flickr | Dinesh Valke
Globally, essential oil producers are fighting the EU’s reclassification of tea tree oil as a reprotoxic substance, which was announced earlier this year. Tea tree is one of the top export oils from South Africa. Locally, the industry employs around 10 000 people directly and another 10 000 indirectly.
Speaking to Farmer’s Weekly, Ryan Biggs, general manager of Ayanda African Oils in Mpumalanga, said government had set up many tea tree farmers as part of its empowerment programmes. If they were to lose the EU market, it would affect thousands of households.
He added that of greater concern was that the legislation would affect the essential oils industry as a whole: “Tea tree is only the start; the compound [the EU is] targeting (p-cymene) is found in most essential oils.”
Karen Swanepoel, executive director of the Southern African Essential Oil Producers’ Association (SAEOPA), explained that tea tree oil, widely used in cosmetics and personal care products, had been classified as a category 1B reprotoxic toxin, meaning it could harm human reproductive health or cause birth defects, by the European Chemicals Agency Risk Assessment Committee, making its eventual removal from the European cosmetics marketplace likely.
“This classification [of tea tree oil] is one step towards a harmonised classification as a hazard of the highest concern in EU regulations, and a cosmetic product ban. If a full cosmetics ban is implemented without exemption, this will have significant consequences for all brands and manufacturers selling cosmetic products containing tea tree oil in the EU, and all affected products will need be removed from the market or reformulated to remove tea tree oil,” Swanepoel said.
She explained that SAEOPA was currently working with the Australian Tea Tree Industry Association and the International Federation of Essential Oils and Aroma Trades to have the EU reconsider its classification of tea tree oil, as the safety trials conducted used results from rats that were force-fed the oil.
“The oil is not supposed to be ingested, but only used topically. The stomach breaks down the oil in a way that is different to when it is only applied on the skin. The latter is therefore not toxic,” Biggs added.
Around 50% of South Africa’s tea tree oil is exported to the EU. Biggs noted that the world market for tea tree oil was saturated, which meant that without access to the EU, the industry would face significant challenges in selling their products and remaining profitable.
The industry was expecting a decision at the end of November as to whether the 1B classification would remain. Thereafter, it had five years to submit scientific evidence to disprove safety concerns. In the meantime, the oil would not be allowed to be sold in the EU.
