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Organics is a method of farming or processing that does not involve the use of artificial, synthetic or inorganic aids or supplements in any part of the process. For example in farming the use of artificial or synthetic pesticides will not qualify the farmed product as organic. In a manufacturing process, for example the use of synthetic materials such as inorganic alcohol to manufacture extracts will not qualify the product as organic.

Certification of a product or process in any industry provides it with authenticity. For example in food manufacturing, a firm that is HACCP certified will employ techniques to reduce or eliminate the risk of contamination. This would allow the consumer to consume their products without risk of it being detrimental to their health. In the organic industry, organic certification is your only guarantee that the product is organic. Unless there is a accredited 3rd party that can supervise the manufacture or production of an organic ingredient, claims of it being organic cannot be substantiated.

Organic certifiers are accredited in their market / country. For example in Australia, AQIS accredits these organisations. In the US, all organic certifiers have to be NOP accredited while the EEC countries also have a similar standard. SKAL/Control Union, is an agency which hold NOP and EEC accreditation and is one of the best recognised gobally. Some countries such as Japan, US, EEC make it mandatory that any organic goods are certified by the relevant agency in their country. At present Australia does not have a similar national mandatory standard. In Australia, Australian Certified Organic (ACO) , NASSA are two of the largest. Nature Shop is a ACO certified processor and our accreditation logo is on our home page.

An organic certified product will have the logo or reference to the certifying agency on the product label or packaging. All Nature Shop's organic product labels will have ACO certified logo that has been exclusively provided to us. A copy of the logo is displayed on our home page.

ACO - Australian Certified Organic. ACO is one of the AQIS accredited organic certifiers in Australia. The web site is http://www.australianorganic.com.au/

You can use it identical to normal juice after reconstitution.

Extracts are concentrated forms of the botanical parts of a plant ie leaf, root etc. The concentration is expressed as a ratio referred to as the "herb ratio". What this means is how much of the raw/dried herb is used to produce 1 part of the extract. For example Henna Extract has a herb ratio of 1:5, that is 5 Kgs of herb is used to produce 1 Kg of extract. All Nature Shop's extracts are powders.

AAll botanical plants used in cosmetics or as a food ingredient contains compounds that are beneficial to humans. In order to obtain sufficient benefit of the compound a large quantity of the herb has to be consumed or used in the process. Herbal extracts being concentrated, provide a large quantitative value of the benefit, when used in small doses. For example Nature Shop's Organic Green Tea is standardised to contain 60% polyphenols, which is the beneficial compound. The information on the concentration of the active compound is provided in the specification/MDS.

Unless specified, all our extracts are soluble in water. In oil, they would most likely form an emulsion depending on the quantity used.

Most plant parts used in cosmetics are dried and it's a moot point on whether they deliver the intended benefit when used in a cosmetic compared to an extract. In terms of usage, a lot more of the plant than the extract will be required to achieve the identical benefit. If water solubility is desired, an extract is better than a plant. For example in soaps, you can dissolve the extract in the water prior to adding the lye or you can add it to the final stage to form an emulsion.

Extracts can be stored in a cool dry place and on average has a shelf life of one year.

The Herb ratio specifies the amount of extract you will need as a replacement of the actual raw herb. For example, if your recipe called for 5gms of dried rose petals in 1Kg of water, you would typically substitute 1gm of rose petal extract in 1Kg of water. The Herb ratio in this instance is 1 (extract): 5(raw rose petal). For new recipe formulations, it will help to start your concept on the amount of raw material you will need and from that you can work out the extent of extract that can be used as a substitute. Please note that some raw material like Dried Rose petals are not soluble in water and hence their infusions into the recipe will not be as concentrated as an equivalent amount of rose extract which is completely soluble in water. The herb ratio cannot be used as an exact science into formulations but a close guide to assist with experimentations.

Liquid Herbal Extracts are more soluble in water than the powdered equivalent. We do not keep liquid herbal extracts as it has a shorter shelf life and added handling costs. Both forms have the same levels of the active compound.

If the quantity required is sufficiently large we can look at it on a case to case basis. Please contact us.

Cost is based on the herb ratio. In terms of usage, a very small quantity of the extract will provide the desired benefit compared to an equivalent amount of the plant.

Herbal extracts is huge area and our suppliers offer much more variety than we carry. We can try and source your requirements but there will be a minimum order quantity. Please contact us.

All Nature Shop's fruit and vegetable powders are spray dried. The technology used is similar to how powdered instant coffee and milk powders are made. Spray dried powder is obtained from fruit and vegetable juices/pulp. These are concentrated forms of the juice and the usage is specified by a factor called the "reconstitution ratio". This ratio specifies how much water is needed for 1 part of the powder to reconstitute the juice.

There are many benefits, the most important being the lack of preservatives in spray dried products due to the absence of moisture in the product. Storage is another benefit - on average its shelf life is 1 year when stored in a cool, dry place. Usage benefit - you only need to reconstitute the juice on need.

Unless specified all spray dried fruit/veg powders are soluble in water.

The expense is related to the concentration, which is indirectly indicated by the reconstitution ratio. You need to compare the price based on the measure of juice that can be produced by the powder and not on the weight of the powder.

Absolutely, its 100% natural.

Natural Colours are extracted by two broad methods - solvents such as alcohol, hexane etc. or by using liquid CO2. The latter is a more recent technology and is more expensive to run. All Nature Shop's liquid colours are solvent extracted except Red Beet,

In general all the natural colours offered can be used in cosmetics in some form or the other. The consumer will need to undertake product trials to determine how it reacts with different chemicals.

Units of colour are measured by a couple of methods such as colour value or Optical Density etc. The higher the unit of colour the more concentrated is the colour and the more raw material is required to make it - hence the expense. The trade off comes in terms of usage - you will need much less of the ingredient compared to a product with lower colour value. Some colours such as Chlorophyll naturally do not retain its colour and has to be modified for usage. The extent of modification helps to retain the colour and hence is more expensive.

We primarily focus on tropical cosmetic butters that are purported to offer better healing properties than other butters. We source our products directly from the manufacturer and can offer competitive prices for bulk orders of 25Kg and upwards. Please contact us.

Oleoresins are extracts that have the essential oil and the resinous part of the herb/spice. It is mainly extracted using solvents which are then removed in the final step. These products are used primarily in food products and in a limited sense in cosmetics, for example vanilla oleresin. The extracts can be viscous or a free flowing liquid. As they are highly concentrated products, very little of the extract will be required for an equivalent flavour - for example 1 Kg of Rosemary Oleoresin is produced from 20Kg of Rosemary herbs.

MDS stands for Material Data Sheet. Its the technical specification, which provides a lot of detail on the product. All Nature Shop's ingredients will be accompanied with its MDS.

The minimum quantity for all products are indicated on the product pages.

The stronger the aroma, the more expensive the product and the less you will need to achieve the same result. The majority of Nature Shop's oils are food grade products with an intense aroma. Test the quality by a small sample to see if it works for your business.