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Standards bodies establish formal definitions that professionals use across the industry, ensuring everyone is speaking the same language. The organization that defines essential oil is the International Organization for Standardization, which maintains standards that specify what an essential oil is, how it’s produced, and related quality terms. This creates an international, agreed-upon definition that practitioners, manufacturers, and educators can rely on.

The World Health Organization focuses on health care needs and products like essential medicines, not on defining what an essential oil is. The American Medical Association is a professional medical association centered on medical practice and ethics, rather than setting terminology for essential oils. The United Nations Environment Programme concentrates on environmental protection and sustainability, not on classifying essential oils.