Rancid (?) Emu Oil Soaps

[Aponi]

I'm lost and hoping someone, if not "everyone" will share their thoughts and help please. We've been making goatmilk soaps now for 7 years, there's always hiccups and "never did that before" scenarios which we get past most likely because we love making the goatmilk soaps - but................

We make wholesale Emu Oil soaps for a girl that sells online, and exports a few to Singapore where they seem to be having heaps of problems with discolouring of the soaps - the first two photos (soaps in bags) are one's sent over from Singapore and the next two are from my soaps downstairs I took this morning made in November 2013, would really like your help please.

I buy pure Emu Oil, unfiltered and unrefined direct from an Emu farm recipe is in order of volume.........

Certified Sustainable RSPO Palm Oil, Coconut Oil, Filtered Water, Emu Oil, Caster, Sweet Almond, Jojoba & Sesame Oils, Vitamin E.
​

I'm thinking, and with what I've read that humid heat may be causing this problem or ??? Would so appreciate your help - as if I can't solve this or have any answers I'll stick with just Goatmilk Soap!!!

In advance - really appreciate your help.

 

[coffeetime]

I haven't used emu, so I'm not sure of the shelf life, but that definitely looks like DOS. And proper storage is really key to preventing rancidity. Do you send them with storage instructions on the labelling?

 

[soap_rat]

Are there any oils used in these soaps that you don't use in your goatsmilk soaps? (other than emu oil). I wonder about the unrefined/unfiltered nature of the emu oil, perhaps there's something in there that encourages rancidity.

How long have you been making the emu oil soap? Do you have any batches without DOS?

 

[Pilar]

I think that oil has more than 1 year and lost their properties

 

[coffeetime]

Sweet almond and sesame both have a short shelf life, so that may be a contributing factor.

 

[new12soap]

sweet almond oil is considered to have a long shelf life.

as for your soaps, yes that does look like DOS, I would get rid of the sesame and I really don't know about the emu oil at all but clearly this is a problem. hope you get it sorted out.

 

[Aponi]

Thank you so much for your comments. I never thought about DOS because it's never happened to me at all in any other soaps I've made.

Coffeetime - Emu Oil should have a shelf life of 1 - 1&1/2 years. I'm thinking the Emu Oil soaps we make perhaps don't sell as quickly as the Goatmilk soaps - I may only get 5 - 6 orders per year which is around 60 logs say approx............600 cakes of soap, so she isn't selling a lot of the Emu Oil, plus last order I made Goatmilk 'n' Emu for her and no problems with those soaps but then again they didn't go to Singapore!!!!

soap_rat - this has happened before with the same recipe - never have any problems with goatmilk soaps.

Pilar - The farm where I get my Emu Oil was out of the oil and I had to wait 3 weeks - I'm sure the oil was fresh (?).

new12soap - I'm seriously considering not making Emu Oil soaps - we don't make enough to warrant the concern, goatmilk is so very popular and we've never had any problems with them.

Thank you all so very much.

 

[coffeetime]

sweet almond oil is considered to have a long shelf life.

My info (NDA) says one year if refrigerated so not as bad as grapeseed but not as good as olive or coconut.

 

[newbie]

That's DOS without a doubt. Are they only developing them in Singapore? I believe that's what you are saying by comparing the soaps sent back and the ones in your basement. Has she said how she is storing them?

The problem is that you can't be certain of how people will store your soap after it has left you. If you have a more delicate recipe, as this seems to be, I would not send it off to be handled and stored by someone else. I would send her a much more stable recipe and also ask her details about where/how she's keeping them. I agree about taking out the less stable oils but I don't know much about emu to know if that is one of the contributors.

 

[Seawolfe]

The tropics are tricky, it's a warm & humid environment - everything goes off faster. Growing up in the Philippines I never got fresh milk, only powdered. Fresh milk went off in transit too easily and was unreliable. I second the notion of only sending really shelf stable soaps to Singapore.

 

[Pilar]

Emu oil tends to deteriorate more rapidly than other oils, in part due to the presence of heavy metals, especially if you have filter during the refining process, cause rancidity in the finished oil. To ensure that the oil is suitable for human use, whether in health or beauty products, subjected to other refining processes. Crude emu oil goes rancid quickly, while the fully refined oil retains its freshness for approximately 1 year and a half environments at temperatures below 75 degrees Fahrenheit. However, life can be extended by cooling the product or adding natural preservatives like vitamin E. Emu oil that has not been processed or refined to the Fully Refined specifications will have a much shorter life.
Crude emu oil is only used for purposes such as animal feed and hot process soaps. The refined oil once used for industrial products, and fully refined is used for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements. From different countries has been found to affect the color of emu oil.
Also, this may have influenced the scent used, quality and provenance

 

[seven]

The tropics are tricky, it's a warm & humid environment - everything goes off faster. Growing up in the Philippines I never got fresh milk, only powdered. Fresh milk went off in transit too easily and was unreliable. I second the notion of only sending really shelf stable soaps to Singapore.

this!

i've seen a difference b/w soaps placed in a curing rack inside my bedroom (where there's a bathroom inside) to those placed outside in the living room (where it's a dryer environment). some of the soaps in the bedroom developed DOS, while the ones in the living room not. both are from the same batch.