Quick answer: A batch report answers three questions. Is this really avocado oil? (the fatty-acid profile). Is it fresh and well handled? (free fatty acids and peroxide value). Is it safe? (contaminants such as heavy metals). Read each result next to the reference range, the method and the laboratory that tested it.
Why I wanted you to see the numbers
In quality engineering there's a saying: if it isn't measured, it isn't managed. When we started TAC, we didn't want our quality to live in a drawer. Purity shouldn't be a promise you trust. It should be something you can verify. So every batch report goes online, linked to the code on your tin.
How we decided what to test
Before we sold a single tin, I had to decide which parameters actually prove that avocado oil is genuine and fresh. I didn't want to invent our own yardstick. So I started from the research that exposed the problem in the first place: the avocado oil purity studies by Dr. Selina Wang and her team at UC Davis, which found that many oils on store shelves were stale or mixed with other oils.
We built TAC's testing parameters around the same markers that research relied on. Then we worked closely with our testing laboratory to set up capabilities specifically for batch-testing TAC's avocado oil, so that every batch is checked against the same, consistent set of parameters rather than a generic oil panel.
The catch: lab reports are written for chemists. This is the translation.
Start with identity
Before any number, check the report matches your product: product name, batch or lot code, sample date, the laboratory's name and accreditation. A nice PDF that doesn't match a batch isn't traceability. On Know Your Batch, your tin's code opens the report for that exact oil.
A real example, line by line
Here are the headline results from our current Essential and Magic batch (they share the same naturally refined oil), as reported by SGS:
| Parameter | Result | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Free fatty acids | 0.16% | How carefully the fruit was handled and processed. Lower is better. |
| Peroxide value | 1.5 meq/kg | Early oxidation. Codex allows up to 10 for refined oil; this is well below. |
| Monounsaturated fat | 64.44 g/100 g | The main fat type in avocado oil |
| Saturated fat | 20.33 g/100 g | Part of the profile that identifies the oil |
| Polyunsaturated fat | 15.08 g/100 g | Part of the profile that identifies the oil |
| Trans fat | <0.01 g/100 g | Effectively none |
| Heavy metals (lead, arsenic, mercury, copper) | Below the limit of quantification | Too low for the lab to measure. Note: "below detection" isn't the same as zero, and honest reports say so. |
Future batches will have their own numbers; your tin's code always shows the report for your oil.
Fatty-acid profile: the oil's fingerprint
Every genuine oil has a characteristic pattern of fatty acids. Labs compare a sample's pattern against accepted ranges for that oil. If an avocado oil were blended with a cheaper oil, the pattern would shift. No single number proves purity on its own; the profile is read as a whole, and natural variation from variety, ripeness and climate is expected.
Our Drizzle batch is a good example. Its key markers, palmitic (C16:0) 21.08, palmitoleic (C16:1) 8.26, stearic (C18:0) 1.15, oleic (C18:1) 50.18, linoleic (C18:2) 12.10 and linolenic (C18:3) 0.69, all sit inside the Codex range for avocado oil. Its oleic n-9 to n-7 ratio of 8.9 also falls in the range researchers associate with authentic avocado oil.
Free fatty acids: how the fruit was treated
Free fatty acids rise when fruit is bruised, overripe or left waiting before pressing. A low figure points to sound fruit and prompt, careful processing. The acceptable limit depends on the grade of oil.
Peroxide value: early staleness
Peroxide value measures early oxidation, the very start of an oil going stale. It's useful, but it's a snapshot, not a permanent freshness score. That's why storage after opening matters too.
What no report can promise
A report describes the sample tested on that date. It can't guarantee how an open tin will behave after six months next to a hot stove. Heat, light, air and time still apply. Store it well and the oil in your kitchen stays close to the oil in the report.
Don't take our word for it
Find the batch code on the back of your tin or spray. Enter it on Know Your Batch. Read the results. If something doesn't make sense, write to us and we'll walk you through it.
Frequently asked questions
What does NABL accreditation mean?
That the laboratory has been independently assessed for competence in specific tests. Check the test you care about is within its scope.
Does a low peroxide value prove purity?
No. It measures freshness. Purity is judged from the fatty-acid profile and other compositional markers.
Why can two genuine avocado oils have different profiles?
Variety, ripeness, climate and processing all cause natural variation.
Where is my batch code?
Printed on the tin or can, near the best-before date.
Keep reading
— Kalpesh, co-founder, The Avo Company