What is FCF Bergamot?
FCF (furano-coumarin free). At the present time I understand that new data may be presented shortly on regarding the toxicity of furano-coumarins. All I can say at present is that bergamot oil is often, if not invariably, adulterated, and/or comes from mixed origins (Ivory Coast bergamot oil often being passed off or added to Calabrian produced oils, especially in times of shortage). I personally prefer the richness and depth of the non-FCF oil, which also keeps better. The FCF oil can be prepared from the normal oil by distillation – although there are also various chemical ways of doing this, and methods based on chemo-physical principles, such as selective absorption which relies on the trapping of the larger furanocoumarin molecules within a the matrix of an inert substance. A distillation process producing FCF bergamot would produce a natural oil. I will leave the producers to argue the case for the other processes…
