At the turn of the millennium, Argan oil was literally unknown outside of Morocco. Only small volumes were made locally for domestic consumption. Since then, the picture has drastically changed. Today, Argan oil has become big business: More than one million gallons are produced yearly. Vast amounts of Argan oil are mass-manufactured. Unfortunately, the quality of the Argan oil is often less important than profitability. Today, thousands of Argan oil products flood the market, most containing industrially mass-produced oil
The World Artisan Guild Difference
World Artisan Guild’s Argan oil is not mass-manufactured. We work closely with our partners, the Atlas women co-operative and Organic Potions to guarantee the highest possible quality Our Argan oil is 100% pure, cold-pressed from freshly opened seeds and certified USDA organic. It exceeds the strict Moroccan government standards for “extra-virgin Argan oil
Ensuring Superior Argan Oil Quality
Organic Potions uses advanced small batch production methods to ensure exceptional quality. With the support of the German Technical Development Agency SVP, a strict production and quality management plan is implemented that incorporates HACCP principles to identify critical steps in the production process that require monitoring. Samples of Argan oil are analyzed multiple times, including at the women's cooperative, at the Organic Potions facility, and before acceptance in the warehouse, to ensure that the oil meets strict quality expectations. The extraction process uses a low pressure screw press with a capacity of 10 gallons of oil per shift. The oil is then decanted and strained, with a sample taken for analysis. Finally, the Argan oil is transferred from the rural cooperative to the facility in Agadir for export. The facility is registered with the FDA and certified organic by the USDA, and all samples are analyzed to ensure that quality criteria are met before export.
It all starts with the Seed
The Atlas women's co-operative uses only high-quality Argan seeds for their oil extraction process. They carefully inspect the nuts to ensure they are not cracked or damaged before removing the seeds. Additionally, they avoid prolonged storage of open seeds to prevent premature oxidation, ensuring that the final product is of the highest quality. This is in contrast to some industrial Argan oil producers who may acquire seeds of lower quality, including broken, oxidized, or pre-digested by goats, in order to purchase large volumes of seeds from rural markets.
The Difference between Industrially Produced Argan Oil and Co-op Argan Oil
Industrial production of Argan oil is the dominant method of production in Morocco, with less than 5% of Argan oil made by women's cooperatives. Industrial presses in coastal cities use high-yield methods that apply significant pressure to maximize yield, but this results in oil that is heated above temperatures suitable for cold-pressed oil and alters the chemical composition of the oil, negatively impacting its quality. Additionally, some factories extract Argan oil using chemical solvents such as Hexane. Furthermore, the raw materials used by industrial presses, such as oxidized or pre-digested Argan seeds, result in lower quality oil that may require deodorization through high temperature steam processing or chemical solvents to eliminate rancid odor. As such, it is safe to assume that Argan oil that lacks any smell is either deodorized or extracted with chemical solvents.