THE GREAT EMU COMEBACK
Emu oil is making a comeback in the medical industry.
Although the FDA has not yet granted approval for medical
applications, laboratory testing has uncovered a wide range
of uses for the off. Researchers of Medical Physiology at
the University of Saskatchewan have found that the oil,
when applied to post-operative wounds, promotes healing,
while the Department of Pathology and Microbiology at the
University of Prince Edward Island's Atlantic Veterinary
College has discovered that emu oil reduces auricular
inflammation in mice. In its unrefined state, emu oil
contains linolenic oil and andoleic acid, and serves as a
carrier for antioxidants and vitamin C. It can penetrate up
to seven layers of skin.
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Emu oil can be used for products as diverse as
moisturizers, eye creams and hair products.
"Refined oil has been on the market at most for about three
years," says Montie Morris, plant manager of Emu Producers
International Cooperative (EPIC). "The industry in the late
'80s went more toward breeders before it tried to get a
commercial market. Now we have importers from overseas."
The EPIC oil refinery produces 5,000 pounds of oil daily
for commercial use in cosmetics like moisturizers, eye
creams and hair products. Other companies have begun
marketing the oil as an anti-inflammatory to high profile
sports teams in the National Basketball Association and the
National Football League.
According to Morris, consumers should look for refined,
deodorized oil that has gone through a process of
sterilization, and they should be wary of ads claiming emu
oil as a cure-all to chronic diseases.
Their ability to thrive on a minimal diet and under harsh
conditions make emus an ecologically attractive commodity.
Their meat, eggs, feathers, oil and hide are completely
usable, and their powerful claws act as small garden
tillers, helping to turn and cultivate the soil. Says Neil
Williams, president of the American Emu Association: "The
emu industry used to be a `bird business.' Today we're:
selling quality products."
-Ruchel Rokicki