Overview
ISO 8896:2016 - Essential oil of caraway (Carum carvi L.) - specifies characteristic properties and test requirements to assess the quality of caraway essential oil. This ISO standard defines physical, organoleptic and chromatographic criteria, sampling size and references standardized analytical methods to support consistent quality control across production, trade and regulatory inspections.
Key topics and requirements
The standard sets normative limits and descriptive criteria for caraway essential oil (steam‑distilled from dried ripe fruit of Carum carvi L.):
- Appearance & colour: clear mobile liquid, colourless to pale yellow.
- Odour: fresh, herbaceous and spicy.
- Physical constants:
- Relative density at 20 °C: 0.900 – 0.920.
- Refractive index at 20 °C: 1.484 – 1.490.
- Optical rotation at 20 °C: +67° to +80°.
- Acid value: maximum 1.0.
- Miscibility: 1 volume oil should form a clear solution with no more than 3 volumes of 80% ethanol (v/v) at 20 °C (opalescence can occur).
- Chromatographic profile (GC) - normative composition ranges (integrator %):
- Myrcene: 0.2–0.7%
- Limonene: 33.0–45.0%
- cis‑Dihydrocarvone: 0.1–1.5%
- trans‑Carveol: traces – 0.5% (note: “traces” is indicated in the standard)
- cis‑Carveol: 0.2–0.5%
- Carvone: 50.0–63.0%
- Flashpoint (informative): mean value +57 °C (closed‑cup apparatus).
- Sampling: perform sampling per ISO 212; minimum test sample 25 ml.
- Test methods: the standard references ISO methods for density, refractive index, optical rotation, acid value, miscibility and chromatographic profiles.
Applications and who uses it
ISO 8896:2016 is used by:
- Essential oil producers and distillers for product specification and batch release.
- Quality control and analytical laboratories to verify physical constants and GC profiles.
- Perfumery, flavour and fragrance manufacturers to ensure ingredient consistency.
- Ingredient traders, packers and exporters/importers for contract compliance and acceptance testing.
- Regulatory, transport and safety professionals for hazard classification and storage guidance (flashpoint reference).
- Research and development teams comparing chemotypes and authenticity.
Keywords: ISO 8896:2016, essential oil of caraway, Carum carvi, caraway essential oil quality, chromatographic profile, refractive index, relative density, carvone, limonene.
Related standards
Normative and informative references used by ISO 8896:2016 include:
This standard helps harmonize quality assessment and trade of caraway essential oil through defined analytical targets and referenced ISO test procedures.