INTERNATIONAL EMU OIL STANDARDS

Introduction
These Standards are for finished and crude oils. "Finished" oil is defined as oil which has been "refined, bleached and deodorized" by processes generally recognized in the commercial oil industry. All other oils are defined as "crude." The Standards are consistent with results from qualified independent laboratories, members' and non-members' collective experience and judgment, as well as previous work done in Australia.

These Standards were developed by the AEA Oil Standards Team under its mission to "establish industry guidelines and standards to help assure the profitable growth of safe global ratite oils markets." Team members bring broad and relevant experience representing the entire value-adding chain from raising birds to research to sales and marketing. Two members are from Canada, four from Australia, and fourteen from the US. There are two Medical Doctors, a Doctor of Pharmacy, two university professors, and several engineers on the team. And we draw support from a worldwide network of other resources, including the American Oil Chemists Society (AOCS), the international organization for "those with a professional interest in the science and technology of fats, oils, and related substances."

Most of the analytical methods specified are AOCS methods that are standard for the oil industry worldwide. Many of the classical measures that are applied to oils lack specificity such that numerical values will overlap oils from other sources. Taken collectively, however, a fingerprint may emerge that is reasonably unique for emu oil.

Measurements of anti-inflammatory and other forms of activity have yet to be incorporated into the Standards. Activity evaluation is currently under way as an ongoing part of the Team's work - with the full recognition that specifying activity is a far more complex (hence, expensive and lengthy) task than the oil measures contained in the current Standards.

Please note the distinction between "guidelines" and "standards" used in this document:

• Guidelines are those specifications that are based on broad experience in the industry, and, in some cases, data. Guidelines should be followed as if they were standards unless your specific data and experience clearly show a guideline to be inappropriate or unnecessary for your oil.

• Standards are those specifications for which support data are statistically significant or the specification is clearly justified by industry experience. Standards should be met except where a customer expressly requires a different specification. Further, suppliers are encouraged to develop premium and/or specialty oils within the Standards.