How we scored it
Cured vanilla pod is plant material; vanillin and other constituents are made by the orchid (n=1); nothing added. 1 / 1 = 1.0.
What counts. ISO 16128-2 scores the atoms that remain in the final ingredient. Reagents, solvents, catalysts and protecting groups used during manufacture leave no mass behind and are not counted.
Where it comes from
Pods of cultivated Vanilla planifolia (mainly Madagascar and other tropical regions) are picked unripe, cured by sweating and drying, then used whole or ground. Synthetic vanillin is a separate ingredient and does not apply to the pod itself.
In plain English
The cured fruit pod of the vanilla orchid, used in products for its vanilla scent and as a skin-smoothing and skin-protecting ingredient. It is natural plant material that is dried and cured, then used whole or ground.
CosIng definition: Vanilla Planifolia Fruit is a plant material derived from cured, full-grown unripe fruit of the Vanilla, Vanilla planifolia, Orchidaceae
References
- 1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
- 2VANILLA PLANIFOLIA FRUIT. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 3VANILLA PLANIFOLIA FRUIT. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=VANILLA%20PLANIFOLIA%20FRUIT