WHAT! oil I ordered a yr. old

[Jody63]

I ordered some Avocado oil from Oils By Nature, however I see on the jug that next to the batch number is a date: 06/16/09 . I have tried to call them and email but no answer yet, I really wanted to use this today but am not sure if I should.
Is this right to be sent an oil that appears to have been made almost a year ago? I thought all these oils had a shelf life, so I am not happy to get an oil that is old already. It is not like I make soap everyday and need this to last awhile.

ANyone else have this experience, or should I not be worrying about this?

Thanks for any input...

 

[IanT]

Never heard of that happening before! Does it look like it shows any signs that it is going bad? Oils will last a while if they're kept correctly, it depends on how they were storing it

 

[marchroses]

Ian, can you give some tips on oil storage? Mine are in big 5 gallon tubs in the closet but with the hot summer coming I was wondering if I need to go for cooler storage?

 

[IanT]

Id say it depends on how much you use at a time and what the room temp of your house is... if you keep the AC cranked etc... For storing them I would def. recommend getting some smaller containers and splitting the 5gal's into maybe 1 or 1/2 gallon containers, this way you can keep from exposing the whole of the oils to oxygen and the surrounding environment.... the stuff you arent using stays sealed and the stuff you are using is in a smaller container... you could also add a little rosemary oil extract (ROE) or Vitamin E (tocopherols, vit e/extract etc...) to act as an antioxidant (meaning that even when the oils are exposed to air they will oxidize at a nearly stagnant rate....

also if you want to save some for a reaaally long time you could always put it in the freezer in a very air sealed container preferably a vacuum sealed bag or similar

Id say that or at least move the 5gal containers to the coolest place in your house, or the side of your house that gets the least amount of exposure to sun light (remember heat is also our enemy in preserving oil integrity)



Those are a few things I could think of off the top of my head, but if I think of more or anyone else has input... do yo' thaaaaang

---->

 

[Jody63]

I do have a frdge I keep my oils in, my attitude though is I shouldn't have to deal with old oils right from the get go, if it is already going on a year old then I don't have much time to even work with here. I'll just have to try Monday to talk with them,. I assumed that any oils ordered would be fresh, never even occurred to me that this might happen. Perhaps they will have to send me a new one, don't know.

 

[Tabitha]

I would expect all items I order to be fresh. It is not standard to receive year old oil. If they had it a year, the company who sold it to them had it for 'some' time also. I would write and ask that the old be replaced. Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe they pulled from the wrong shelf...

 

[ChrissyB]

Avocado oil is also one of the oils that generally goes rancid quicker than a lot of others.
I'd send it back and demand a replacement.

 

[xyxoxy]

It's not unreasonable to expect fresh oil when you order it but I would give them the benefit of the doubt and allow them to correct their mistake.

One other hint I've found for storing oils is to keep them out of the light. I had a bottle of Olive oil in a clear plastic bottle that I stored out on an open shelf (for lack of room elsewhere) and after a couple of months (and only opened for a couple of batches) it began to get "fuzzy" in the bottom. It had a future expiration date and didn't smell bad but I was hesitant to use it after that.

Since I've been storing all of my oils in a closed cabinet I've had no such problem. A nore or less constant temperature helps too.

 

[Jody63]

Does anyone know the shelf life of Avocado oil? I will try to "nicely" resolve this Monday. If they want repeat business, they will send me a fresh one.

 

[MagiaDellaLuna]

Does anyone know the shelf life of Avocado oil? I will try to "nicely" resolve this Monday. If they want repeat business, they will send me a fresh one.

The shelf life is about 12 months, depending on storage conditions.
I would definitely ask for a replacement.

 

[Tabitha]

I must say, this thread is somewhat refreshing. I can not tell you how many threads I have seen that start out.... "I have some oil that has gone rancid but I think it will be OK to use in soap."

 

[Jody63]

Awww yes, so that gives me..... oh one month to use it, LOL! yes, I WILL be asking for a replacement. I have opened it and smelled it, and it does have a slight rancid smell, you can't mistake it once you've smelled it. I hope this company is good about this kind of thing, I have never ordered from them before. I will cross my fingers!!

I guess this is a heads up to check all your oils for dates if you can to make sure you are not sold an old ones. We pay too good of money for these things to accept anything less than FRESH.

 

[honor435]

I like that company, I think they will resolve it, tell us what happens.

 

[Jody63]

Okay, update! well they were out of town so that is why they did not get back to me. I have to say I got a very nice and informative email. Here is just one part of the email referring to the date on the oil I received.

The oil you received with the batch number AV 06/16/09 is not the
manufacturing date of the avocado oil. This is the lot number which
refers to the production facility where it was refined. The
manufacturing plants have specific codes which they use to tell us where
the oil came through, was refined and packaged. The manufacturing date
of that oil is actually January, 2010.

I will definitely order from them again, they are very helpful and as you can see the date was confusing but did not reflect the actual manufactering date. So I am excited I get to use this oil and feel good about it. A+ for this co. on careing about customer satisfaction.

 

[Tabitha]

Well- they need a new system for labeling. It SHOULD have the made date or exp date & the batch number should not be in a date format. If there are numbers on a bottle, the consumer should be able to identify what tghose numbers mean.

 

[Jody63]

I agree Tabitha, what else was I supposed to think or assume with a date like that on the jug?

 

[Tabitha]

You mentioned earlier you thought it had a slightly rancid smell.... do you still think that?

 

[Jody63]

Well, not having any experience with Avocado Oil, I am not sure what it is supposed to smell like. Maybe since I "thought" it was old I assumed that the smell it had was rancid, or my nose was playing tricks on me. I am just going to trust what they said and use it, can't wait to see if I like it in CP.