Bergamot oil is the fresh, sweet citrus note at the top of almost every classic cologne, and the flavour that turns black tea into Earl Grey. Perfumers value it more than any other citrus oil because it is not only citrus: under the bright limonene top sits a soft, floral heart that links citrus to lavender, neroli and the woods.
It is also unusual in where it comes from. Most of the world's bergamot oil is pressed in one place: a narrow strip of coast in the province of Reggio Calabria, at the toe of Italy. Calabrian oil is the grade perfumers and flavourists work to, and the one the international standard describes.
This guide covers Calabrian Bergamot Essential Oil from IndoOils: what it is, how it is made, what is in it, which tests matter, which rules apply, where it is used and how to order it in bulk.
Bergamot, Bergamot Mint, Wild Bergamot: Getting the Name Right
Three quite different plants are sold as "bergamot", so the first job is to make sure supplier and buyer mean the same oil:
- Bergamot oil comes from the peel of the bergamot orange, Citrus bergamia Risso & Poit. (also written Citrus aurantium subsp. bergamia). The fruit is small, pear-shaped, green to yellow and too bitter to eat. It is grown almost only for its oil. This is the oil this guide is about.
- Bergamot mint oil comes from Mentha citrata, a mint grown mainly in India. It shares linalool and linalyl acetate with true bergamot, so it smells a little like it, but it is a distilled herb oil, not a citrus peel oil. IndoOils lists it separately as Bergamot Mint Essential Oil.
- Wild bergamot and bee balm are Monarda species, North American herbs. Their oils are thyme-like and have nothing to do with citrus.
Bergamot is also sometimes confused with the bitter orange (Citrus aurantium), its likely parent, and with bergamot mint "type" blends that some suppliers sell as bergamot. Always check the botanical name on the documents.
Product identifiers
- Product: Bergamot Essential Oil (Calabrian, Cold Pressed)
- Botanical name: Citrus bergamia Risso & Poit.
- INCI name: Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Peel Oil (US labels often use Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil)
- CAS number: 8007-75-8 (89957-91-5 also appears on some documents)
- EC number: 289-612-9
- FEMA number: 2153
- Standard: ISO 3520:2022, essential oil of bergamot, Calabrian type
- HSN code: 33011990 (other citrus oils)
- SKU: IND0021
- Origin: Calabria, Italy
- Plant part: Fresh fruit peel
- Extraction method: Cold expression (no heat, no solvent)
Cold-Pressed, Bergapten-Free and "Bergamot Type" Oils
Several materials are sold as "bergamot oil". They can smell alike on a strip, but they are not interchangeable:
- Cold-pressed (whole) bergamot oil is the oil as it comes off the peel, after centrifuging, settling and filtering. It has the full, rounded bergamot scent, and it contains a small amount of bergapten and other furocoumarins, which make skin react to sunlight. This is what IndoOils supplies, and it is the material ISO 3520 describes.
- Bergapten-free oil, sold as FCF (furocoumarin-free) or "bergaptene-free", is cold-pressed oil that has been treated after pressing, usually by vacuum distillation or an alkali wash, to take the furocoumarins out. It is the oil most leave-on cosmetic makers use. Its scent is a little flatter, and it costs more. Ask for the bergapten figure on every CoA.
- Distilled bergamot oil is distilled from peel residues or recovered oil. It has no bergapten, but it also lacks the non-volatile part of pressed oil and smells thinner. It is sometimes blended into pressed oil, which is one reason buyers test the evaporation residue (see the CoA section).
- "Bergamot type" or reconstituted oils are blends built from synthetic or isolated linalyl acetate, linalool and limonene, sometimes with a little real oil. They can be fine for candles or detergents, but they are not natural bergamot oil, and they must not be sold as one.
Make sure your order and every document name the grade. A specification that says only "bergamot oil" invites a supplier to send whatever is cheapest that week.
How Calabrian Bergamot Oil Is Made
Bergamot grows well in only a few places. In Calabria it is grown along a strip of coast in the province of Reggio Calabria, between the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas, where mild winters and sea air suit the tree. Smaller crops come from Côte d'Ivoire, Brazil and Argentina, but their oil differs, and Calabrian oil sets the price and the standard.
- Harvest. The fruit is picked from November to March, while it is still green to yellow-green. Early fruit gives a greener, sharper oil; later fruit gives a softer, sweeter one.
- Peeling machines. Whole fruit goes through machines that rasp the outer skin under a spray of water. The oil sits in small glands in the coloured outer layer of the peel, and rasping bursts them. Older machines pressed halved peel instead; modern lines work on whole fruit, and the juice is recovered afterwards.
- Centrifuging. The water and oil emulsion is spun in centrifuges to separate the oil.
- Settling. The oil is held cold so that natural peel waxes drop out, then filtered. A little waxy deposit can still form in winter; ISO 3520 allows for it.
- Testing and packing. The oil is tested and packed in full, sealed containers.
The yield is small: roughly half a per cent of the fruit's weight, or about 1 kg of oil from 200 kg of fruit. That, and the small growing area, is why bergamot costs several times more than sweet orange or lemon oil, and why it is a target for adulteration.
The EU protects the name "Bergamotto di Reggio Calabria – olio essenziale" as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO, Regulation (EC) No 509/2001). Not all Calabrian oil is sold as PDO. If you need the PDO name on your label, ask for oil that is certified PDO, with the paperwork to prove it.
What Is Inside Bergamot Oil
ISO 3520:2022 sets a chromatographic profile for Calabrian bergamot oil. Each lot should fall inside these ranges:
- Limonene, 32–47 %. The fresh citrus top, as in all citrus oils. It oxidises in air.
- Linalyl acetate, 22–36 %. The ester that makes bergamot different from every other citrus oil: soft, floral and fruity. It is the same compound that gives lavender its character.
- Linalool, 3–15 %. A floral note. Linalool rises, and linalyl acetate falls, as the oil ages or picks up water, so the ratio between the two is a quick freshness check.
- γ-Terpinene, 6–10 % and β-pinene, 4–8.5 %. Green, herbal and piney notes.
- Geranial, 0.25–0.5 % and β-bisabolene, 0.3–0.7 %. Small, but part of the standard profile.
Pressed citrus oils also carry a non-volatile part, about 4.5–6 % of bergamot oil by weight. It holds waxes, coumarins and furocoumarins, including:
- Bergapten (5-methoxypsoralen), 0.18–0.38 % under ISO 3520. This is the compound behind the phototoxicity rules. It is measured by HPLC (ISO 7358), not by GC.
- Bergamottin, a larger furocoumarin, and citropten, a coumarin.
The profile varies with harvest month, district and machine. Build your specification on the GC report and the bergapten figure of the lot you approve.
What to Check on the Certificate of Analysis
A good bergamot CoA reports the lot against ISO 3520. These are the figures to look for:
- Appearance and colour: clear, mobile liquid, green to yellow, sometimes with a slight deposit.
- Odour: fresh, pleasant and cool, recalling fresh bergamot peel.
- Relative density at 20 °C: 0.868–0.878.
- Refractive index at 20 °C: 1.4650–1.4700.
- Optical rotation at 20 °C: +20° to +36°.
- Residue on evaporation: 4.5–6.0 %.
- Acid value: 2 mg KOH/g at most. A higher figure suggests the ester has started to break down.
- Ester value: 86–129 mg KOH/g. This tracks the linalyl acetate content.
- CD value (a UV absorbance test on a dilute solution): 0.65–1.15. It reflects the non-volatile coumarins that only pressed oil carries.
- Bergapten by HPLC: 0.18–0.38 % for whole oil. For FCF oil, the figure should be a trace, and the CoA should state it.
- GC profile: every component inside the ISO 3520 ranges above.
- Lot details: batch number, production and expiry dates, and country of origin.
The ISO standard gives a mean flash point of about 59 °C (Pensky-Martens closed cup). Use the figure on your supplier's SDS for transport and storage.
Adulteration: what to watch for
Bergamot's high price and small crop make it one of the most adulterated citrus oils. The common tricks, and the tests that catch them:
- Added synthetic linalyl acetate and linalool. These push the ester value and GC profile into range cheaply. Natural bergamot linalool and linalyl acetate are almost entirely one mirror-image form, the (R)-form; synthetic material is a 50:50 mix. A chiral GC test shows the difference clearly.
- Added orange or lemon terpenes, or distilled bergamot oil. These dilute the non-volatile part, so the evaporation residue, CD value and bergapten figure fall below the ISO ranges while the GC profile may still look plausible.
- Bergamot mint oil. Mentha citrata oil is also rich in linalool and linalyl acetate, and costs far less. Traces of mint compounds on GC, and a low residue, give it away.
- Oil from another origin sold as Calabrian. Ivorian and South American oils have different profiles. A certificate of origin, and for the PDO name, PDO certification, are the paper checks; an experienced laboratory can also spot them on GC.
Ask for an independent GC-MS report with every lot, and for a chiral analysis when you approve a new source.
Where Bergamot Oil Is Used
Bergamot oil sells into three main markets: fine fragrance, flavours (above all Earl Grey tea) and personal and home care. Each one asks for something different. Perfumers want the true Calabrian scent profile and an IFRA certificate. Flavour houses want food-grade paperwork and a clean residue figure. Cosmetic makers mostly want FCF oil, because whole oil is limited in leave-on products. Tell us the end use when you ask for a quote, so we send the right documents with the first sample.
Fine fragrance
Bergamot is the most used citrus oil in perfumery. It is the top note of the classic eau de cologne (with lemon, neroli, lavender and rosemary), the opening of the chypre family (bergamot over oakmoss, labdanum and patchouli), and part of most fougère and fresh masculine accords. It works with florals such as lavender, neroli, geranium, rose, jasmine and ylang ylang, and with woods such as vetiver, cedarwood and sandalwood.
Fine fragrance is sprayed on skin, so it falls under the IFRA bergapten rule below. Many perfume houses use FCF oil for that reason.
Tea and flavour
Bergamot oil is the defining flavour of Earl Grey tea and of many bergamot-scented green and black teas. Tea blenders spray the oil, usually in a carrier, onto the leaf. It is also used in:
- citrus and tea flavours for drinks, sweets and baked goods
- liqueurs and bitters
- confectionery and chewing gum
Personal care and home care
- Rinse-off products such as shower gels, shampoos and soaps, where bergapten is not restricted.
- Leave-on products such as lotions and deodorants, within IFRA limits, or with FCF oil.
- Home fragrance: candles, reed diffusers and room sprays.
- Premium fragranced cleaners and laundry products.
Citrus partners that blend well with bergamot include lemon, sweet orange, bitter orange, grapefruit, lime and blood orange. Herbal and spice partners include clary sage, coriander, black pepper and rosemary.
Safety, Food and Cosmetic Rules
Phototoxicity and the IFRA standard
Bergapten and the other furocoumarins in whole bergamot oil can cause a strong skin reaction when treated skin is exposed to sunlight. That is the main rule every bergamot buyer has to plan for:
- IFRA restricts expressed bergamot oil, with other furocoumarin-containing citrus oils, in leave-on products applied to skin exposed to sunlight. The limits are set per product category; for the main leave-on categories the maximum for whole oil is 0.4 % in the finished product. All phototoxic ingredients in one product count towards the same total.
- The restriction does not apply to rinse-off products such as shower gels and shampoos, or to products not applied to skin, such as candles and home fragrance.
- FCF oil is not restricted for phototoxicity, which is why leave-on brands use it.
Always work from the IFRA certificate supplied with each lot and the current IFRA standard, not from a figure in an article.
EU cosmetics rules
- The EU Cosmetics Regulation bans furocoumarins as added ingredients, except for their normal content in natural essential oils. In sun-protection and bronzing products, furocoumarins must be below 1 mg/kg.
- Bergamot oil contains limonene, linalool and citral, which must be declared as fragrance allergens on EU cosmetic labels above the set limits. Our guide to fragrance allergen labelling explains how.
Food rules
- In the US, bergamot oil is listed as GRAS (21 CFR 182.20) and carries FEMA number 2153.
- In the EU, natural flavourings fall under Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008. To label a flavour "natural bergamot flavouring", at least 95 % of the flavouring part must come from bergamot.
- Food buyers will also ask for a food-grade statement, an allergen statement and often a pesticide residue report.
Handling hazards
Whole bergamot oil is classed under GHS as a flammable liquid, a skin irritant and skin sensitiser, an aspiration hazard (may be fatal if swallowed and it enters the airways) and toxic to aquatic life. Handle it with gloves and eye protection, away from heat and flames. The SDS supplied with each lot gives the full classification.
Documents to Ask For
For each lot, a serious supplier should be able to give you:
- Certificate of Analysis against ISO 3520, including the bergapten figure
- GC-MS report from an independent laboratory
- Safety Data Sheet (GHS, 16 sections)
- IFRA certificate for the current amendment, and an EU allergen declaration
- Certificate of origin (Italy), and PDO certification if you need the PDO name
- Food-grade statement and allergen statement, for flavour and tea buyers
- Chiral analysis on request, when you approve a new source
Our checklist for importing essential oils for cosmetics covers the wider paperwork.
Packing and Storage
IndoOils supplies Calabrian bergamot oil in 25 kg and 50 kg aluminium packs and 200 kg drums. Minimum order is one pack. Every pack carries its own batch number.
Bergamot oil keeps well if it is treated like the fine oil it is:
- Keep it full, closed and cool. Store at 15–25 °C, away from light and heat. Air oxidises limonene; water and heat break linalyl acetate down to linalool and acetic acid. Both flatten the scent.
- Blanket opened packs with nitrogen if you will use them over several weeks.
- Expect a little deposit in winter. It is natural peel wax. Warm to room temperature and mix before use.
- Use the right materials. Limonene softens some plastics and rubbers; stainless steel, glass, aluminium and lined containers are safe.
- Shelf life is 24 months unopened. Use opened packs within six months, and check the acid value on older stock.
How to Order Bergamot Oil in Bulk
- Tell us your use. Fine fragrance, tea, rinse-off or leave-on products: the use decides whether you need whole oil or FCF oil, and which documents you need.
- Ask for a sample with its CoA, and test it in your own lab.
- Approve the sample and set your acceptance specification: ISO 3520 limits, bergapten, and any extra checks such as chiral GC.
- Send a bulk inquiry through the product page with the quantity and pack size. Prices are quoted on request.
- Receive the lot with its CoA, GC-MS report, SDS, IFRA certificate and certificate of origin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is bergamot oil the same as bergamot mint oil?
No. Bergamot oil is pressed from the peel of a citrus fruit, Citrus bergamia. Bergamot mint oil is distilled from a mint, Mentha citrata. They share some aroma compounds, but they are different oils with different specifications and different customs codes.
What does "FCF" mean?
Furocoumarin-free. FCF bergamot oil has had bergapten and the other furocoumarins taken out after pressing, so it is not restricted for phototoxicity. Whole cold-pressed oil, like the IndoOils Calabrian oil, still contains bergapten (0.18–0.38 % under ISO 3520).
Can I use whole bergamot oil in a body lotion?
Only within the IFRA limit for leave-on products on sun-exposed skin, which for whole oil is low (0.4 % in the main leave-on categories). Most leave-on brands use FCF oil instead. In rinse-off products, whole oil is not restricted for bergapten.
Why is Calabrian bergamot oil more expensive than other citrus oils?
The fruit is grown in a small area, it is picked mainly for its oil, and the yield is low: about 1 kg of oil from 200 kg of fruit. Demand from fine fragrance and tea is steady, so prices stay high and move with each harvest.
How can I tell if bergamot oil is adulterated?
Check the CoA against ISO 3520, especially the evaporation residue, CD value and bergapten, which fall when the oil is diluted. A chiral GC test shows added synthetic linalyl acetate or linalool. A certificate of origin covers the origin claim.
What HSN code applies to bergamot oil?
In India, bergamot oil falls under 3301 19 ("other" citrus oils), tariff item 33011990, with GST at 18 %. The old code 33011100 "of bergamot" no longer exists, and 33012540 is for bergamot mint. Confirm the code with your customs agent.
What is the minimum order?
One pack: 25 kg, 50 kg or 200 kg. Samples are available for lab approval before you order in bulk.