ISO 9235:2021

Overview

ISO 9235:2021 - Aromatic natural raw materials - Vocabulary is an ISO international standard that provides clear, harmonized terms and definitions used in the essential oils and aromatic raw materials sector. Issued by ISO/TC 54 (Essential oils) in collaboration with CEN, this third edition (2021) replaces ISO 9235:2013 and updates several definitions (notably clause 3.13 and the addition of 3.19). The document standardizes vocabulary for botanical and other natural aromatic materials to improve clarity across production, trade, quality control and regulation.

Key topics

This vocabulary standard covers definitions and concepts such as:

• Essential oil (different types and production methods: steam-distillation, expressed-from-citrus, dry distillation)
• Hydrolat / water aromatic (hydrosol) - aqueous distillates (examples: lavender hydrolat, orange flower water)
• Absolute, concrete, pommade florale - solvent and enfleurage extracts
• Oleoresin, resin, resinoid, gum, gum-oleoresin, gum-resin, exsudate - exudates and extraction products (examples: Peru balsam, benjoin, myrrh, frankincense)
• Distillat, alcoolat, extract par fluide supercritique - distillates, alcoholates and supercritical fluid extracts (CO2 extracts)
• Rectified, deterpenated, concentrated essential oils, oils “deprived of x” - post-extraction treatments and fractionation processes
• Terpenes, concentrates volatiles, extracts non-concentrated - by-products and specialized extracts
• Matière première naturelle - the overarching concept of raw materials of plant, animal or microbiological origin and permissible preparatory processes (physical, enzymatic, fermentation, traditional treatment)

The standard includes a thematic index and alphabetical index to aid lookup. It contains no normative references.

Applications

ISO 9235:2021 is practical for:

• Producers and processors of essential oils, extracts and oleoresins for consistent naming and specification
• Perfumery, cosmetics and flavour formulation teams for precise ingredient description and labeling
• Quality control and analytical laboratories to align terminology in reports and certificates
• Regulatory authorities, trade organizations and procurement for harmonized specifications and dispute resolution
• R&D, education and technical writers producing standards, datasheets and training material

Using ISO 9235 helps reduce ambiguity in supply chains, product documentation, and international trade of aromatic natural raw materials.

Related standards

ISO 9235 is part of ISO work on essential oils and complements analytical, safety and labelling standards in the fragrance, cosmetic and food ingredient sectors (refer to ISO/TC 54 publications and national standards for related requirements).