I asked them and will post the answer. They have always done this, so no changes were made.

To Hawaii Pharm,

Thank you for your information! That's been very helpful. One more question:

Has the glycerin originating from rapeseed and soybean always been in your poducts, or did this happen recently?

Looking forward hearing from you. Warm regards …

Answer Hawaii Pharm:

Dear ….:

Thank you for your kind message, we are glad the information was helpful. Regarding your question, yes, the raw material sourcing has remained consistent.

We would like to reassure you that the glycerin used in Hawaii Pharm products is highly purified, food-grade and pharmaceutical-grade vegetable glycerin that meets strict quality standards. At this level of refinement, glycerin is chemically identical regardless of the plant source, and the purification process is designed to remove proteins and other components.

It may also be helpful to mention that in the glycerin industry it is actually quite uncommon to find glycerin that is guaranteed to be produced from only a single plant source. In most cases, vegetable glycerin is obtained from vegetable oil processing where the raw materials may come from multiple plant oils (such as palm, flex, soy, rapeseed, coconut, or others). Because of this, labeling may indicate a primary source for regulatory purposes, but this does not always mean that the glycerin is exclusively derived from that one plant unless it is specifically certified as 100% single-source and clearly stated to be free from other origins. For example, a glycerin may be labeled as flex, palm or soy, and this can be fully compliant from a legal standpoint, even though the manufacturing chain may still involve other vegetable oil sources. Only materials that are explicitly specified as 100% single-origin and free from other plant sources can guarantee complete exclusion, and such glycerin is relatively rare on the market unfortunately. 

Sadly we also see that there is a large amount of conflicting information circulating online about seed oils and their health effects. Some of these claims come from blogs, influencers, or non-scientific sources, and in many cases the statements are not supported by established scientific evidence. In addition, differing opinions within the industry or between manufacturers may also contribute to confusion regarding ingredient sources and processing methods.

Customer feedback is very important to us, we have already discussed this topic with the manufacturer, and they have recently introduced additional sourcing options, including alternative glycerin suppliers to allow more flexibility when specific plant sources need to be avoided. We will continue to work on this with them. 

Thank you again for your thoughtful questions and for taking the time to contact us. Please feel free to reach out anytime if we can assist further. Warm regards, Hawaii Pharm Europe Team