LATEST NEWS & MEDIA
30 Oct 2009 - EMEA submission
The EMEA (European Medicines Agency) committee on herbal medicinal products called for scientific data to create a Monograph for tea tree oil as a Herbal Medicine in August 2009 More »»
19 Jun 2009 - New ATTIA website
Welcome to our new website. If you are a regular visitor you will notice quite a few changes - this will be progressive as the site is developed over the next few weeks. More »»
16 Apr 2007 - Safety dossier submitted
The industry response on the SCCP Opinion on the Safety of Tea Tree Oil which was published in November 2004 has now been filed with Brussels. The industry is yet to be advised who will be the rapporteur. Additional data is to be filed from an as yet incomplete ROAT study More »»
21 Feb 2007 - ATTIA refutes gynecomastia link
ATTIA calls for the Journal of New England Medicine to publish a retraction re the recent article: Prepubertal Gynecomastia Linked to Lavender and Tea Tree Oil. More »»
PrintQuality
As part of its responsibility to consumers, the Australian tea tree industry not only adheres to stringent legal requirements than ensure the quality and safety of its products but also actively interacts with and provides comment and input to both Australian and international regulatory bodies to protect and promote the Australian tea tree industry.
Commercial standards for tea tree oil are determined by international standard ISO 4730 (2004) and the identical Australian standard AS 2782-2009 ("Oil of Melaleuca, Terpinen-4-ol type") and all members of ATTIA must conform to the minimum standards of the ATTIA Code of Practice (COP) which outlines a quality management system that begins on the farm and continues throughout the processing and the supply chain to the end-user.
ATTIA’s Code of Practice
A major part of ATTIA's mission is implementing national standards and a Code of Practice (COP) for all facets of the production of Australian tea tree oil that its members must adhere to. This ensures that the Australian tea tree industry maintains consistently high quality in its processes and the products derived from tea tree oil. ATTIA’s stringent COP guidelines ensure that tea tree oil manufactured and supplied by ATTIA members is a true market ready product by bringing to the industry a common standard of quality management. Members who are COP accredited are entitled to use the Pure Australian Tea Tree Oil logo on their stationary.
The quality management outlined in the COP starts on the farm and continues throughout the processing and the supply chain. It was developed using a HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control points) approach to identify quality hazards and also compliments ISO 9001:2000 quality management systems.
The minimum standards in the ATTIA COP address the following critical control points:
1 Farm layout and operations including:
1.1 A property map clearly identifying the smallest production area
1.2 A recording system to identify all operation activities and inputs
2 Herbicide and pesticide control encompassing knowledge of permitted chemicals, their withholding periods for harvesting, operator safety, storage, application and record keeping.
3 Harvesting which addresses withholding periods, equipment management, weed control, material handling and record keeping.
4 Distillation to address contamination prevention, leaf biomass identification, distillation control, health & safety and record keeping.
5 Oil handling, filtration and storage to manage contamination, storage, batching, sampling, identification, labelling, quarantine, security and record keeping.
6 Shipment and export including:
6.1 Packaging, labelling, inspection & security sealing and record keeping
6.2 Documentation and dangerous (flammable) goods identification
A common theme throughout the COP is record keeping and traceability as this ensures any oil can be traced back to the paddock where it was grown and that all operational activities and inputs including the seed used, fertiliser application and any other farming practices are easily identified.
The importance of ATTIA’s comprehensive COP procedures has once again been highlighted in the recently released European SCCP (Scientific Committee on Consumer Products) Opinion on tea tree oil dated 16th December 2008 which stated:
The Australian Tea Tree Industry Association (ATTIA) developed a Code of Practice and a Guidance Document to ensure a common standard of quality management starting on the farms for processing and the supply chain. The measures include control of harvesting, distillation, handling and batching. The use of stainless steel storage vessels for long term storage (> 1 week), storage in the dark and use of nitrogen or argon gas in order to slow down oxidation is recommended. Furthermore, inspection, a quarantine system and recording/documentation is implemented.
Comment of the SCCP
Based on the information given, the SCCP is of the opinion that on the basis of the ATTIA Code of Practice and the Guidance document a safe processing and storing of Tea Tree Oil can be achieved which can be controlled by measuring p-cymene content.
This means that since all ATTIA members are COP compliant, anyone selling TTO to Europe can, when requested to do so by a client purchaser of our 100% pure Australian tea tree oil, confidently state that we have a full Quality Assurance (QA) system that assures total commitment to quality from the moment the seedling went into the ground to the point where it is packed and exported to the consumer.