ISO 8900:2005

Overview

ISO 8900:2005 - Oil of bergamot petitgrain [Citrus bergamia (Risso et Poit.)] is an ISO standard that specifies quality characteristics for the essential oil obtained by steam distillation of leaves and small fruits of Citrus bergamia. The standard is intended to facilitate consistent quality assessment and trade by defining physical properties, chemical indices and a normative gas‑chromatographic profile for oil of bergamot petitgrain.

Key topics and requirements

The standard defines mandatory test parameters and limits, including:

• Physical properties

  • Density (relative to 20 °C): min 0.886 - max 0.894
  • Refractive index at 20 °C: min 1.4600 - max 1.4650
  • Optical rotation at 20 °C: between −4° and +3°
  • Colour/appearance: liquid, clear, pale yellow to amber; characteristic odour

• Chemical indices

  • Acid index: maximum 2
  • Ester index: minimum 128, maximum 195

• Miscibility

  • Miscibility in 70% (v/v) ethanol at 20 °C: one volume of oil should produce a clear solution with no more than three volumes of 70% ethanol.

• Chromatographic profile (normative)

  • Gas chromatography (GC) analysis is required to produce a fingerprint profile. The standard lists representative constituents (e.g., β‑pinene, myrcene, limonene, trans‑β‑ocimene, linalool, linalyl acetate, nerol, geraniol, neryl & geranyl acetates, β‑caryophyllene) with specified percentage ranges (see Table 1 of ISO 8900). The GC profile is normative and used for identity and quality verification.

• Flash point (informative)

  • Reported average flash point (Pensky‑Martens) is about +75 °C (given as informative guidance).

• Sampling & test volume

  • Refer to ISO 212 for sampling. Minimum sample volume specified for testing: 50 ml.

Applications and who uses it

ISO 8900:2005 is used by:

• Essential oil producers and distillers for defining product specifications
• Quality control and analytical laboratories (GC fingerprinting, physical/chemical testing)
• Perfumery and flavour houses requiring consistent raw material quality
• Buyers, suppliers and contract manufacturers for procurement and acceptance testing
• Regulators, transport safety and insurance stakeholders for hazard classification and documentation
• Research organizations studying Citrus bergamia essential oil composition

Practical uses include incoming quality control, specification writing, dispute resolution in trade, and routine batch release testing.

Related standards

ISO 8900 references and works with other ISO documents for essential oils testing and handling, such as ISO 279 (density), ISO 280 (refractive index), ISO 592 (optical rotation), ISO 11024 (GC profile guidelines), ISO 212 (sampling) and ISO/TR 11018 (flash point guidance).