BS EN ISO 3218:2014

BSI Standards Publication

Essential oils — Principles of

nomenclature
BS EN ISO 3218:2014 BRITISH STANDARD

National foreword
This British Standard is the UK implementation of EN ISO 3218:2014.
It supersedes BS ISO 3218:1976 which is withdrawn.
The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical
Committee AW/54, Essential oils.
A list of organizations represented on this committee can be
obtained on request to its secretary.
This publication does not purport to include all the necessary
provisions of a contract. Users are responsible for its correct
application.
© The British Standards Institution 2014. Published by BSI Standards
Limited 2014
ISBN 978 0 580 73637 7
ICS 01.040.71; 71.100.60
Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from
legal obligations.
This British Standard was published under the authority of the
Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 August 2014.
Amendments issued since publication
Date Text affected
EUROPEAN STANDARD EN ISO 3218
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM August 2014

ICS 71.100.60

English Version

Essential oils - Principles of nomenclature (ISO 3218:2014)

Huiles essentielles - Principes de nomenclature (ISO Ätherische Öle - Grundsätze der Nomenklatur (ISO
3218:2014) 3218:2014)

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 7 May 2014.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European
Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national
standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation
under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same
status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United
Kingdom.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION

COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION
EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000 Brussels

© 2014 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN ISO 3218:2014 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.
BS EN ISO 3218:2014
EN ISO 3218:2014 (E)

Foreword

This document (EN ISO 3218:2014) has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 54 “Essential oils”.

This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical
text or by endorsement, at the latest by February 2015, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn
at the latest by February 2015.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. CEN [and/or CENELEC] shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the following
countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Endorsement notice

The text of ISO 3218:2014 has been approved by CEN as EN ISO 3218:2014 without any modification.

3
 BS EN ISO 3218:2014
ISO 3218:2014(E)


Contents Page

Foreword......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... iv
1 Scope.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1
2 Normative references....................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
3 Principles...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Bibliography................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3

© ISO 2014 – All rights reserved  iii

BS EN ISO 3218:2014
ISO 3218:2014(E)


Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity
assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the WTO principles in the Technical Barriers
to Trade (TBT) see the following URL: Foreword - Supplementary information
The committee responsible for this document is ISO/TC 54, Essential oils.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 3218:1976), which has been technically
revised.

iv  © ISO 2014 – All rights reserved

 BS EN ISO 3218:2014
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 3218:2014(E)

Essential oils — Principles of nomenclature

1 Scope
This International Standard lays down the principles to be adopted for designating essential oils in
English and French, e.g. for the labelling and/or the marking.

2 Normative references
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 4720, Essential oils — Nomenclature

3 Principles

3.1 Unless stated otherwise, the principles set out below are applicable in both English and French.
In each example, the English term is given first and is followed by the corresponding French term in
brackets.

The name of the essential oil shall be sufficiently clear and unequivocal so that there is no risk of
confusion regarding:
— the botanical origin of the plant;
— the part of the plant used;
— its phenological stage;
— the processing operations, if any, prior to obtaining the essential oil (predrying, fermentation, etc.);
— the method of obtaining the essential oil.
These remarks only concern the name of the essential oil. The correct botanical name of the species
and if necessary, of the plant variety, as well as the details relating to the origin and the method of
production of the essential oil are given in the corresponding international standards, in the Scope and
Terms and definitions clauses.
As far as the botanical name is concerned, refer to ISO 4720.

3.2 In order to distinguish essential oils from fatty oils, the expression “Essential oil of … [Huile
essentielle de …]” shall be used to describe the former.
NOTE ISO/TC 54 decided to adopt the terminology “Essential oil of …” instead of “Oil of …” for all the
international standards published by the committee. This change will be introduced progressively when
reviewing the international standards and for all new drafts.

3.3 The words “Essential oil of… [Huile essentielle de …]” will be followed by the commonly accepted
common name of the plant and plant part if several plant parts may deliver essential oils (see also 3.7).
EXAMPLE 1 Essential oil of lavender [Huile essentielle de lavande].

EXAMPLE 2 Essential oil of parsley fruits [Huile essentielle de fruits de persil].

© ISO 2014 – All rights reserved  1

BS EN ISO 3218:2014
ISO 3218:2014(E)


3.4 The complete usual botanical name will be used (names of genus and species) when no common
name exists.

3.5 Interspecific hybrids will be designated in the text by the common name and according to the
botanical nomenclature rules in force.
EXAMPLE Essential oil of lavandin Grosso (Lavandula angustifolia Mill. x Lavandula latifolia Medik.) [Huile
essentielle de lavandin Grosso (Lavandula angustifolia Mill. x Lavandula latifolia Medik.)].

3.6 When the essential oil originates exclusively from certain varieties or from certain clones of a given
species, the name generally adopted for the variety or the clone will be specified.
EXAMPLE Essential oil of lavender “Maillette” [Huile essentielle de lavande “Maillette”].

3.7 When the botanical species comprises several chemical races (chemotypes in English and
chimiotypes in French) differentiated by the essential oils obtained, the name of the principal chemical
constituent shall be specified.
EXAMPLE Essential oil of basil, methyl chavicol type [Huile essentielle de basilic, type méthylchavicol].

3.8 If several parts of the plant can be used for the extraction of the essential oil, the name of the part
employed shall follow the common name of the plant in English and shall precede it in French.
EXAMPLE 1 Essential oil of clove leaf [Huile essentielle de feuilles de giroflier].

EXAMPLE 2 Essential oil of clove stem [Huile essentielle de griffes de giroflier].

3.9 Since the same name can be given to plants of distinct species stemming from different parts of the
world, it is often necessary to distinguish the species by indicating the geographical location from where
the plant originates. In this case, the common name of the plant includes a name of a country or region.
EXAMPLE Essential oil of Spanish wild marjoram (Thymus mastichina L.) [Huile essentielle de marjolaine
sauvage d’Espagne (Thymus mastichina L.)].

NOTE This naming allows to distinguish Thymus mastichina L. from Origanum majorana L. which is called
“marjoram” in English and “marjolaine” in French; no ISO standard exists today for essential oils of O. majorana L.

3.10 Plants of the same botanical species can grow naturally or be cultivated in different geographical
regions and their essential oils may present different physical and chemical properties due to the genetic
material and the ecological and agricultural circumstances. They will be distinguished by adding after the
name of the essential oil, the name of the region or country where the variety or the cultivar is originating
from, followed by the term “type” in English and preceded by the term “type” in French.
EXAMPLE 1 Essential oil of black pepper (Piper nigrum L.), India type [Huile essentielle de poivre noir (Piper
nigrum L.), type Inde].

EXAMPLE 2 Essential oil of black pepper (Piper nigrum L.), Madagascar type [Huile essentielle de poivre noir
(Piper nigrum L.), type Madagascar].

EXAMPLE 3 Essential oil of rosemary, Spain type [Huile essentielle de romarin, type Espagne] (ISO 1342).

EXAMPLE 4 Essential oil of rosemary, Morocco and Tunisia type [Huile essentielle de romarin, type Maroc et
Tunisie].

3.11 When the essential oil of a plant can be obtained by different processes, the method used shall be
indicated at the end of the title, preceded by a comma.
EXAMPLE 1 Essential oil of lime, obtained by distillation [Huile essentielle de limette, obtenue par distillation].

EXAMPLE 2 Essential oil of lime, obtained by expression [Huile essentielle de limette, obtenue par expression].

2  © ISO 2014 – All rights reserved

 BS EN ISO 3218:2014
ISO 3218:2014(E)


Bibliography

[1] ISO 1342, Essential oil of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.)

© ISO 2014 – All rights reserved  3

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