Why a supplier certificate is not enough
A supplier-issued Certificate of Analysis is a weak guard against substitution, because it can reflect a hand-selected sample rather than the lot as shipped, and a supplier can grade its own certificate. The certificate confirms what the supplier chose to show, not necessarily what is in the drum.
The definitive method: GC fatty acid analysis
The authoritative test is gas chromatography of the fatty acid profile, run under the method AOCS Ce 1h-05. Because Nilotica is oleic-dominant and West African shea is stearic-dominant, the oleic to stearic balance distinguishes the subspecies directly. One important caution: a ruminant-fat method is sometimes misapplied to vegetable fats. The correct vegetable-fat fatty acid method is the one to specify.
Independent, lot-level documentation
Stronger still is independent documentation tied to the specific lot. Government laboratory reports carry sample numbers that are independently verifiable and cannot be transferred to another batch, and a per-shipment analysis record builds a history that cannot be backdated. That is the difference between a claim and a chain of evidence.
Sensory evaluation is supporting evidence, not proof
Color, aroma, and texture can support an assessment, but they do not authenticate a subspecies, and the market's sensory instincts are often inverted, treating firmness and strong aroma as quality when those are characteristics of the other subspecies. Trust the laboratory, then let the senses agree.
Documentation, not a claim.
Burgess Origin Co is establishing the first U.S. documentation standard for verified Vitellaria nilotica shea butter, authenticated by gas chromatography (AOCS Ce 1h-05) and supported by lot-level Ugandan government laboratory reports.
Request an Originilotica sample with COA Read the white paperFrequently asked
Gas chromatography fatty acid analysis under AOCS Ce 1h-05, which measures the oleic to stearic ratio that distinguishes the East African subspecies from West African shea.
Not on its own. A supplier COA can reflect a chosen sample and can be self-graded. Independent, lot-level laboratory documentation with verifiable sample numbers is far stronger.
It is the AOCS method for determining the fatty acid composition of vegetable oils and fats by gas chromatography, the appropriate method for authenticating shea subspecies.