DoTerra On Guard results are in and I’m having Deja Vu…
One of the oils selected for testing for “The Big MLM Test Round” currently being funded on YouCaring was DoTerra’s “On Guard” essential oil blend. Typically those results would not have been released until the funding was completed, however given the circumstances with the “Deep Blue”, I had advised DoTerra of the following error at the same time. The results were to be posted on Monday June 13th along with DoTerra’s statement, however they decided to release their statement early. I did not think it fair for people to have a statement referring to a test result that had not yet been published…so here it is!
Below is a copy of the test report from the testing lab. [Note: Mobile device users, clicking the link below will download the PDF copy of the test report. You must have a PDF viewer app on your device to view the report.]
It was determined this blend contained a combination of both cinnamon bark AND cinnamon leaf despite the label and bottle only claiming to contain cinnamon bark. I advised DoTerra of this error last week during our discussion regarding the labelling issue on their Deep Blue blend. They issued a statement to me which I have posted below. While this test technically gets a “fail,” It should be noted that all oils contained in this blend were 100% pure and natural, with no synthetics present. DoTerra has some work to do to ensure all of their labels are accurate and transparent, as consumers and their members expect nothing less from a company claiming to be the world leader in essential oils.
In the statement below, Emily mentions an ongoing label audit. Unfortunately I must point out that this issue was not noticed until this testing and my subsequent notification to them and I challenge the accuracy of that statement. That being said, I appreciate the quick action taken by DoTerra to update their website listings and their commitment to have their bottle labels corrected immediately. [Note: Mobile device users, clicking the link below will download the PDF copy of the test report. You must have a PDF viewer app on your device to view the report.]
Feel free to use the comments section below to discuss your thoughts. Are you satisfied with the outcome? Or do you think more should have been done to prevent these errors from occurring in the first place?
-Yours in Health,
Miles
Sharon says
All I can say is that I’m looking for a company that can be trusted with no synthetic chemicals in their oils.. after being with the company for over 10 years and my daughter started having worse health issues. After being with the company for over 10 years and my daughter started having worse health issues I decided to do some due diligence which I should have done earlier, I did not like what I found. I walked away from the company because I will not tell lies. I left my team alone and went on and found a better company which I absolutely love and my daughter started getting better immediately . Sadly enough the first company found out I had changed took away my check and said I could receive it back if I left the company I went to . I left a big check behind, God will take care of those who share truth and light. I was turned in by a woman who had nothing to do with my group. All I can say now is I am so glad she was led to a company that has totally changed my daughters life, she can now enjoy life healthy and happy. Truth eventually prevails. I wish I would have done my due diligence earlier instead of believing everything I was told. The 10 years of products took a toll on her health. I live who I am with now and am forever grateful and God will take care of me. It hurts me to know I thought I was helping all those I stood in front of and am sorry for any untruth told, that I thought was truth. Please do your research, lots of evangelical preachers are finally found out in the end, to be just using their platform for their own benefit. Beware!!
Daisy says
Would you share which one you’re using now?
Heavymethod says
Wow the doterra bots come out in full force when anything slightly questionable comes out about this company. I’m amazed by the cult mentality doterra people have. Do they have some type of mind control chemicals in their products or something or just an awesome PR division? Hey this is a ‘Murica if you want to spend 3-10x the money on a sometimes subpar product go for it but stop misleading people. This is a pyramid scheme and remember the whole curing cancer controversy? Please do not take reps recommendations on ingesting this stuff. Please do some REAL research doterra and YoungLiving bots please.
Darlene Case says
Has any testing being done on Eden’s Garden? I primarily use doTerra but do use a few E.G.
Karen says
Wow, what a difference between the 2 bigs! DT response about labeling vs. YL response about adulterated oils! I really appreciate your efforts!
Tammy says
I’m researching both companies now. 🙂 I found DT’s response about labeling posted on this site, but I can’t find YL’s response to adulterated oils? Where did you see that, and can you post a link? Thanks!
michelle says
I have been using EOs (from a large company for years) & share my experiences and knowledge with anyone open to natural healthcare/wellness. I’ve seen the evidence that the oils I use are pure although the company has made other types of errors in the past. I’m sad that so many people are focused on “bashing” one company vs another, as I feel it creates unreasonable doubt in the use of quality essential oils no matter who makes them! No one or company is perfect (I’ve worked in corporate healthcare for 18 yrs) & there’s a lot more at stake to a pharmaceutical being mislabeled that to God’s natural gifts. It speaks volumes to an individual’s character rather than the corporate culture as my EO provider encourages everyone to take the “high road” & focus on providing health/wellness alternatives. I’d love to see us as an industry lift one another up & focus on helping people gain knowledge of alternate health solutions (vs synthetic options) rather than focusing on what little fault they can find among each distributor of pure oils!
I appreciate your time & effort in determining where to get “pure” EOs from! To me, knowledge is power…not necessarily ammunition!
Jackson says
What is GC/MS data?
Vicki D. says
Thank you so very much for your work, Miles! Your efforts are a great benefit to the rest of us. Health and happiness to you.
Symone says
Isn’t an audit a testing by a third party? So isn’t your independent testing classed as an audit? I’m trying to work out which part is the lie but I just don’t see it, could someone help me please?
Christine DeMoss says
I have noted that DoTerra practices this ingredient silence a lot in their marketing. For instance, the product Frankincense was a single strain a year ago but today it is a blend of strains. Terra Shield is now a different recipe but still marketed as the same product but as an outdoor blend verses a repellent. The consumer thinks it is the same thing because the main product name didn’t change,just the sub title did, and how many people pay attention to that? Proof is in the lables generated in the past years. I understand ingredient availability or lack there of, but DoTerra representatives are marketing with old photos and the company has no control over their reps and is even guilty of the same practice. Omission of ingredients or categorizing under “other” seems to be negligent. Don’t believe me? Ask a person who has a nut allergy. I look forward to more results!
Elizabeth says
The reason doTERRA changed the label from repellent to outdoor blend is because of FDA compliance issues. They couldn’t have any language whatsoever that implied it could replace a pharmaceutical product. The thing is Dr. Pappas has made announcements regarding certain essential oils being effective for bug repellent but doTERRA is not allowed to market their TerraShield blend as such.
Tom says
Actually the repellent is an EPA compliance issue (insect repellents are regulated as pesticides) Health claims are a FDA issue
Cindy says
Glad yo mentioned Frankincense as not the same as it was a couple years ago. it does make a difference which strain is used. I pointed it out to a silver wellness advocate about 16 months ago and they didn’t know it. When you are paying the kind of money that Frankincense is and you expect it to be one thing but find out it is another, it can be disappointing. Each Frankincense does bring a slight change in structure.
Kay says
Well said!!! My boy has a nut and MSG allergy!
Dee Dee says
I am thankful to be a part of a company that releases test results. Faulty labeling IS a problem. Glad to see that they are addressing it. There are no excuses. Regardless of a company’s size, they should have an adequate infrastructure to provide to the consumer what they are claiming to provide.
Meridith says
No human being is capable of being perfect and neither is any company. To expect absolute perfection is unrealistic. Mistakes are inevitable, how they are handled is what makes people or companies stand apart. The oils are pure, that’s what matters most to me. They made a clerical error and they are correcting it with an apology. I love my doTERRA oils and am once again impressed by the integrity and professional way they do business.
Meridith says
Also thank you for the work you are doing! I appreciate your work to find which oils are truly pure.
Margaret says
I love my DOTERRA Essential oils and they have helped my family immensely. No chemicals, toxins found. Yeah, that is the most important factor for me. What other company can really say that. To me that is why I use them. Try doing chemical studies on the ones in the local stores and health food stores. Boy, would that be an eye-opener!!
Grant says
There are a lot of companies that sell pure oils. And they have done tests on the ones available at the brick and mortars and guess what? They passed.
Sue says
They have. And they have come back pure, no additives, chemicals or toxins.
Shane says
Being from the food industry and having worked for a few large companies, who manage many product lines, my experience shows me labeling issues like these are the norm.
Typically, large companies are so departmentalized that transparency can be lost.
Once a label is made it is usually not looked at again in many years, and takes either an audit process (very costly) or an outsider questioning something to spur a change.
doTERRA’s fast response is quite amazing. It tells me they already had the knowledge about what ingredients were in their products, but lacked in the same area as many other companies on getting that knowledge to all departments and getting them all on the same page with updated materials.
The fact that they said they are already auditing goes a long way, as this is a very labor intensive and costly process (think meetings between departments, testing, new labels, new product pages, design changes, updating websites, internal and external communications). It is necessary every few years in my opinion, but few companies take the time, money, and effort to perform them.
Jennifer says
Really good points!
I love that these tests are being done. At least we’ve found out the oils are as completely pure as they say. I guess that’s what I’ve been mostly curious about. Labels need to be fixed, thats not good, but honestly if you’re going have an issue, I’d rather it be something outside of the quality of the product as in these cases.
Tinna Braatz says
Perhaps I am missing it, but I don’t see reference to an “ongoing” label audit. She says, “In addition to …,” then talks about the label audit. I would take this to mean “In addition to being told our labels were wrong, we looked and found they indeed were.” She should have said “Pursuant to…”
I guess I do think these were honest mistakes/oversights and am glad they were quick to admit the mistakes and fix them, rather than deny, justify, or straight up lie. I would hope it leads a scrutiny of every blend they make to be sure everything is labeled and advertised correctly.
Valerie says
Didn’t Dr. Pappas (who is the chemist who analyzes DT’s oils) say that ylang ylang was a newer addition to the Deep Blue formula and had not always been included? Maybe I am mis-remembering, but if not it’s very interesting that their statement directly contradicts that.
Grant says
Nope. Ylang Ylang has always been in Deep Blue according to DoTerra. For 8 years they just haven’t listed it on the ingredient list.
Tamara Dean says
I love what you’re doing and with such integrity and grace!!
Sheri says
I have challenged doTerra quite a few times on labeling issues, only to receive excuses back. I am glad this labeling issue has been addressed. There are things I love about the company, but this kind of “transparency” is not one of them.
Al says
dōTERRA’s oils are pure. That is what matters. So I trust them & will continue to purchase.
Nancy F. says
As long as there is no adulteration I am happy. The oils work for me and my family for both minor and major issues.
Dana says
Thankful the tests prove that doTERRA oils are pure and free of synthetics and fillers. I hope that no one has had any ill effects from a pure oil being left off the label. That being said, anyone and everyone makes mistakes. There are bigger problems in the world then this.
Craig says
I think we can all agree that the fact that “…doTERRA manages over 1,000 labels spread amongst an ever-growing number of countries in 13 languages…” would be very difficult for any company regardless of size.
I am very confident that doT is actively reviewing all labels in all countries and all language to be sure the label correctly reflects the ingredients in each product.
As for the World Leader (?) comment; I see nowhere in the response from doT that they don’t have enough employees. They simply state that they manage labels for a very wide variety of products in several countries and languages and that there was an error of omission and that they have made the immediate changes that are needed to their corporate site and are working to correct the issue.
I did not see any attempt to hide from the allegations.
TJN says
Pharmaceutical companies with label errors would be launching a recall. It’s called misbranded/adulterated product, regardless of the number of labels they’re managing. That’s their job to get it right, and that’s what a Quality Control department is tasked to do as part of their release to market.
I have no sympathy for this company.
michelle says
I’m curious what company makes the EOs you choose to use?
Rabecca says
Exactly
Sharon says
i personally don’t trust eo companies who don’t provide gc/ms reports for their essential oils, so I don’t buy from mlm companies anymore for that reason. Thank you Myles for exposing the truth for the consumers. The fact that doTerra has been caught on 3 different infractions by your thorough testing proves a point!
Jennifer says
dōTERRA does actually provide GC/MS reports. This is something the company has just began doing, yes, BUT it does go a long way in my book. You can now go to http://www.sourcetoyou.com and enter a lot # and have access to individual reports. dōTERRA is a phenomenal company, their oils are pure AND they now provide proof of what has been their standard protocol all along- that being individual batch testing by a reputable 3rd party testing facility. Simply put, if the oils don’t meet or exceed their standards…THEY DON”T BOTTLE THEM.
Quality matters. Is the labeling a big issue? YES! Is it acceptable? NO! Did they try to hide from it or lie to cover it up? No, they did not. This company still has my trust!
Pamela says
I have used doTERRA oils for over a year now… I am very happy with the products that I have purchased and use….I never looked at the i gredients co tained in the chemical products I purchased before doTERRA so I have to say thank you for checking up to find that there oils are pure…as for the label I still do not read them….
Debbie says
At least the oils used are pure and not synthetic–that’s an offense.
Gary says
I still do not trust an oil company who will not release GC/MS data on batch numbers.
That right there is enough of a reason not to use them.
H Snell says
The main concern in our household is the purity of oils. I am glad that DoTerra oils are testing as pure with no synthetics or chemicals added as they claim, as we are attempting to rid our household of all chemicals. We also have never had a bad side affect from any oils we use, and we use a LOT of oils at our house! I am confident they will take care of the labeling issue.
Jessica says
Essential oils ARE chemicals! 🙂
Kay says
(chuckling) not the kind of chemicals you’re thinking of!
We’re all of the mind pure: as in found in nature/plants
Teresa says
I’m surprised DoTerra replied that this hasn’t happened before. Less than two years ago, DT frankincense was found to be a blend of three different frankincense species and not the just the one species listed on the label at the time. DT updated the label to read that it is a frankincense blend. Given that DT states their oils are tested in house and independently, I don’t understand how there can be at least three labeling mistakes that left out ingredients for years and the DT tests didn’t identify the frankincense was a blend.
In addition, DT was warned for not labeling ingredients in blends in the order content in the blend. Meaning the ingredient with the highest quantity in the blend was not listed first. It is my understanding that due to this warning, DT changed some labels to be in compliance.
Audrey says
Dr pappas addressed this on his essential oil university page, something to do with the database of frankincense industry wide has never seen single species resin because of the difficulty acquiring frank directly from the tree.
Kim says
Yes, but this seems to be a pattern to me. DT has cited ‘proprietary’ and refused to disclose constituents when adverse reactions occurred and people needed to be treated. So, could leaving one oil off the label be an attempt to maintain their formula?
Margaret Fo says
I applaud the quick and honest (well almost) response. No denial, no hiding from the issues and all the oils pure. Mislabelling is a serious issue but one I would think could be replicated through many companies especially with blends. As more blends are tested it will be interesting to see or will this have them all rushing to double, triple check their labels and product pages. I was going to add how sad I have found some reactions and the run to lawyers. I will not not voice my “opinion” but it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Is this easier to take to court than including synthetic materials. How many took Walmart to court or others I will not name so I almost stay on topic. Thank you to Miles and all who work hard to keep us informed.
Christa Collins says
Do you think what she meant by ongoing label audit is that, since you brought this to their attention, they will be auditing labels more regularly now (and only did so to begin with due to your testing)?
Tina Gibson says
Doterra has issued a statement on both.
Yaya says
The World Leader (?) in essential oils doesn’t have enough employees to make sure their labels are correct? It bothers me too that they suddenly are working on it after someone else outside their company told them. Convenient.
How does a company become the “World Leader”? Is it just a marketing claim ?
Jill Gray says
World leader: Selling more oils them anyone else.
Similar to his a person would LEAD a race and be a “pack leader”.
Why are we picking apart that comment?
Kt says
They were already doing an audit but it was not complete when these two omissions were brought to their attention.
Critical thinker says
DT are a marketing company owned by the 2 Davids who were the heads of YL marketing department. Just tried their best to copy Gary Young.