NOW Essential Oils Peppermint Oil (Mentha piperita), 1 fl oz

A single-ingredient peppermint oil with a lot-numbered certificate and GC profile on NOW’s site, and 223 ppb phthalates in an independent test, in its best group. NOW’s own lab runs the lot tests, and no origin is stated.

Best for Anyone who wants a plain, inexpensive peppermint oil for diffusing, with a lot-level report to read, and who will follow the cautions about children, cats and skin.

Our rating: Good (3.8 of 5)
Price range: Budget
Size: 1 fl oz (30 mL); 2 fl oz is $17.99, 4 fl oz is $29.99 and 16 fl oz is $89.99 at NOW
Made in: Country of origin not stated; tested by NOW Foods in Bloomingdale, Illinois (certificate of analysis)

approx. $9.99 for 1 fl oz (30 mL)

See it on NOW Foods’s site → (opens in a new tab)

We are not affiliated with NOW Foods. This link goes to the maker’s own page, with no tracking code. How we're funded.

Also sold at Amazon ($6.70), iHerb ($6.70), Walmart ($6.70) , and 1 more.

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How we evaluated it

How it scores Our rating, metric by metric Good, 3.8 of 5

Purity 35% of the rating 4 of 5

One plant named by its Latin name, steam distilled from the aerial parts, with nothing added; the sample lot’s GC profile lists 82 components, but the check is NOW’s own.
Batch testing 25% of the rating 4 of 5

A certificate and GC profile by lot number from NOW’s own lab (the sample lot we opened was clean; NOW says not every lot is online yet), plus 223 ppb phthalates in an independent test, in the best group but not under 100 ppb; no outside-lab lot reports.
Sourcing 15% of the rating 2 of 5

No country of origin, farm or distiller is named, and the oil is not organic.
Trust 10% of the rating 3 of 5

Plain label, clear safety FAQ and lot-level reports; points off for terminated recalls of other NOW foods and supplements, 19 Prop 65 notices since 2005 (one about pulegone in pennyroyal oil, the rest about other products), paid sponsored ambassadors and looser wording on retail listings.
Value 15% of the rating 5 of 5

About $0.34 a mL at NOW ($9.99 for 30 mL) and $0.23 a mL at the $6.70 retail price, among the cheapest oils we list.

The rating, 3.8 of 5, is the weighted average of these scores. See how we rank essential oils and our standard.

Where to buy Stores and the prices we saw 4 stores

Amazon (opens in a new tab) approx. $6.70. Sold and shipped by Amazon.com, not by NOW’s storefront. Same model number (7585) as NOW’s 1 fl oz bottle and $3.29 below NOW’s own price on the day we looked. Phrases on the listing such as “purifying the air” and “negative energy” are listing copy, not on NOW’s own product page.
iHerb (opens in a new tab) approx. $6.70. Listing shows SKU NOW-07585 and UPC 733739075857, matching NOW’s 1 fl oz bottle; in stock.
Walmart (opens in a new tab) approx. $6.70. Sold by Walmart.com itself, model 7585 and the same UPC. The listing title says it has a child resistant cap.
Vitacost (opens in a new tab) approx. $6.70. Listing shows SKU and UPC 733739075857, matching NOW’s 1 fl oz bottle; in stock.

Prices as we saw them on November 3, 2026. They change often. These links carry no tracking code and earn us nothing.

What’s in it Every ingredient, in label order 1 ingredient

Peppermint (Mentha piperita) oil, steam distilled from the aerial parts

Who tested it What each test found, and who paid for it 2 tests

Maker’s own test NOW Foods’ own laboratory (the maker; NOW says it is ISO/IEC 17025 accredited) March 2024

Certificate of analysis and GC-FID/MS profile for the sample lot NOW’s site shows (lot 3355605, best by 2027-05-21; the certificate covers the bulk oil and is dated 2024-03-25). Species Mentha piperita and plant part conform; arsenic 0 ppb, cadmium 0 ppb, lead 41 ppb, mercury 10 ppb; microbial count passed. The GC profile lists 82 components, among them menthol 37.75%, menthone 27.24%, menthyl acetate 5.11%, 1,8-cineole 5.08% and pulegone 1.32%, and says the oil meets NOW’s in-house peppermint standard. We could open only this sample lot. Lot numbers are on the base of a bottle, and NOW’s certificate site says not every product has results online yet, especially oils made before 2023. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Independent Mamavation with Environmental Health News (Mamavation earns affiliate income) February 2025

Sent 22 lavender and peppermint oils from 11 brands to an EPA-certified lab (not named) and tested them for a panel of phthalates. All 22 had traces, from 40 to 13,029 ppb in total. NOW Essential Oil 100% Pure Peppermint had 223 ppb (bottle size not stated), in the “best” group (under 1,000 ppb) but not among the two oils under 100 ppb. Bottles were bought from November 2023 to December 2024. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Who paid, and why it matters

Independent The tester took no money from the maker for it: a consumer group, a journalist, a university or a regulator.
Paid certification An outside lab or certifier tested or listed it, and the maker paid for that.
Maker’s own test A lab report or certificate of analysis the maker commissioned and published.

A certification is a floor, not a verdict: it checks what its program checks and nothing else. We weigh tests by someone with no stake in the result most.

What people ask Worries raised online and elsewhere, and what we found 8 questions

Where is the lot report, and who ran the test?: NOW says every essential oil has a certificate of analysis you can look up by the lot number on the bottle’s base, at its certificate site (opens in a new tab). The tests are run in NOW’s own labs, not by an outside lab, so they are the maker’s word. NOW also publishes a sample peppermint lot (we opened it); we could not check the lot on your bottle, and the site says results are not yet online for every product, especially oils made before 2023.
Does it contain phthalates?: Traces, as in every oil Mamavation tested. Its lab (opens in a new tab) found 223 ppb in total in this oil, the second lowest of the 11 peppermint oils (range 128 to 13,029 ppb) and under the 1,000 ppb line it used for its “best” group. We found no limit for phthalates in essential oils, and NOW’s certificate does not test for them.
Does peppermint oil contain pulegone, a chemical on California’s cancer list?: Yes, a little. The GC profile of NOW’s sample lot lists pulegone at 1.32% of the oil. California has listed pulegone as known to cause cancer (opens in a new tab) since 18 April 2014, and a 2015 Prop 65 notice (opens in a new tab) named NOW and four other sellers over pulegone in pennyroyal oil, a different oil. We found no notice about peppermint oil, and NOW’s product page shows no Prop 65 warning (read 2026-11-03). We have not worked out what 1.32% means for the amount a person breathes from a diffuser. Our diffuser article advises short sessions in a ventilated room.
Is peppermint oil safe around children and pets?: Take care. NOW’s safety FAQ (opens in a new tab) says infants, children and pets may be highly sensitive to essential oils even in a diffuser, to ventilate the room and to be cautious around dogs and cats. Our safety guide says peppermint oil is toxic to cats, and our peppermint article says to keep it away from the face of infants and young children, because menthol can cause breathing difficulty.
Can you swallow it or put it on skin?: NOW says its essential oils are for aromatherapy only and are not intended for internal use, and that undiluted oil should not go on skin, least of all a child’s. The product page says to dilute with a carrier oil for any other use and, if you are pregnant or nursing, to ask your practitioner first. It gives no dilution percentage; ours are in the safety guide.
Does it “purify the air”?: NOW’s own page calls the oil “revitalizing, invigorating, cooling” and makes no medical claim. Amazon’s listing says it is “ideal for purifying the air” and can reduce “negative energy”. We found no evidence for that; diffused oils can add indoor air pollutants of their own.
Any recalls, Prop 65 notices or lawsuits?: None about this oil. openFDA lists 20 food enforcement reports across two spellings of the firm’s name (NOW Health Group (opens in a new tab) and Now Foods (opens in a new tab)), all terminated, for supplements and foods (including a Class I Salmonella recall of raw macadamia nuts in 2020). California’s Prop 65 list (opens in a new tab) has 18 notices naming NOW Health Group between 2005 and 2025, and a nineteenth, since withdrawn, naming Now Foods. Most are about lead or cadmium in supplements and foods (cocoa, flax meal, ginger, psyllium, maple syrup); the others cover lovastatin in red yeast rice, PCBs in fish oil, hormones in creams, lead in a toothpaste (2025) and pulegone in pennyroyal oil (2015, see above). None names peppermint or tea tree oil. CPSC’s list has nothing under NOW’s name, and its essential oil recalls are mostly wintergreen and birch oils. A web search found no FDA warning letter or lawsuit about NOW’s essential oils, but we could not search FDA’s warning-letter list or court dockets.
Does anyone get paid to recommend it?: Yes, in sport. NOW’s Ambassador Program (opens in a new tab) gives athletes and coaches with at least 5,000 followers free product and, case by case, money to promote the brand on social media. Mamavation, which ran the phthalate test, earns affiliate income on Amazon sales. We did not check how any individual promoter discloses a tie.

Why we chose it What put it on our list 4 points

NOW says every essential oil has a certificate of analysis and GC profile by lot number. The sample peppermint lot we opened lists the species, plant part, 82 components, four heavy metals and a microbial count.
Mamavation’s lab found 223 ppb phthalates in it, one of eight oils under 1,000 ppb out of 22 tested.
The wording is plain: the product page says “Pure peppermint oil”, steam distilled from the aerial parts, for aromatherapy; it makes no disease claim. NOW’s FAQs say the oils are not for internal use and warn about children and pets.
It is among the cheapest oils we list per mL: $9.99 at NOW and $6.70 at the four stores we opened.

Trade-offs What to weigh before you buy 6 points

The lot tests are NOW’s own. We could read a certificate only for the sample lot, not for your bottle, and an in-house GC profile is not an outside check.
No country of origin, farm or distiller is named, and this oil is not organic. NOW sells a separate organic peppermint that Mamavation did not test.
223 ppb of phthalates is in the best group but is not clean: it is more than five times Plant Therapy’s organic lavender (40 ppb) in the same test.
Peppermint oil needs care. Keep it away from babies’ and young children’s faces, do not use it around cats, never swallow it and never put it on skin undiluted.
Retail listings use looser wording than NOW’s own page (“purifying the air”, “negative energy”).
The bottle material is not stated on the page; the maker’s photo shows an amber bottle.

What to know Details worth knowing first

NOW’s peppermint oil is the plainest kind of essential oil: one plant, named by its Latin name, steam distilled from the aerial parts, with nothing added. What sets it apart from most oils at its price is the paperwork. NOW says every oil has a certificate and a full GC profile by lot number on its own site, though its lookup page admits some lots are not online yet. The sample lot we opened lists 82 compounds, with menthol and menthone leading, plus four heavy metals and a microbial count.

Those tests are NOW’s own, so they are the maker’s word and not an outside check. The outside check is Mamavation’s phthalate test: 223 parts per billion, in its best group of oils but not clean. NOW does not name where the peppermint is grown, and it is not organic. It is also one of the cheapest oils we list, at $9.99 on NOW’s site and $6.70 in the stores we opened.

Peppermint oil is strong. Keep it away from babies’ and young children’s faces, do not use it around cats, never swallow it and never put it on skin undiluted. The GC profile also lists pulegone at 1.32%, a compound California lists as a carcinogen; the details are under “What people ask”. Read our safety guide before you use any essential oil.

What we checked Each claim, and how sure we are of it 7 checks

Tested by: NOW Foods’ own lab (certificate of analysis by lot number)
Certificate of analysis: Yes

How NOW Essential Oils Peppermint Oil (Mentha piperita), 1 fl oz measures up against our essential oils criteria
What we checked	What we found
A batch test Maker’s claim	NOW says every oil has a certificate of analysis and GC profile by lot number; we opened the sample lot’s certificate and GC profile. The lab is NOW’s own, not an outside lab, and we could not open the lot on your bottle.
Named plants Maker’s claim	Mentha piperita; aerial parts; steam distilled. Country of origin is not stated.
Honest claims Maker’s claim	The product page lists only aroma and attributes (revitalizing, invigorating, cooling) and no disease or immune claims. Amazon’s listing adds “purifying the air” and “negative energy”.
Safety information Maker’s claim	Suggested usage: aromatherapy only, dilute with a carrier oil for other uses. Caution: keep out of reach of children, avoid skin and eyes, ask a practitioner if pregnant or nursing. NOW’s FAQ adds infants, children and pets. No dilution percentage and no pet-specific rules.
Dark glass, dropper and lot number Maker’s claim	Dropper insert on the 1 fl oz bottle (page) and a child resistant cap (Walmart listing title); lot number on the bottom of the bottle (certificate site). Bottle material is not stated; the photo shows an amber bottle.
Independent contaminant test Verified	Mamavation, February 2025: 223 ppb total phthalates, in its “best” group (under 1,000 ppb) but not among the two oils under 100 ppb. One bottle, an unnamed EPA-certified lab, full data behind a free account.
Recalls and Prop 65 notices Verified	None about this oil. NOW has terminated food and supplement recalls in openFDA and 19 Prop 65 notices since 2005 (one over pulegone in pennyroyal oil, none over peppermint oil), listed under “What people ask”. Searched 2026-11-03.

What the labels mean

Verified We opened an independent record that confirms it: a certifier’s listing, a regulator’s list or a lab report. It is linked under Sources.
Maker’s claim The maker says so on its own page or label. We read it but found no independent record.
Not verified We looked and could not confirm it, or the maker does not say. Treat it as unknown.

Sources Where our facts come from 17 sources

NOW Essential Oils Peppermint Oil: product page. Maker’s page. Sizes, prices, ingredient, extraction method, usage and caution as seen on 2026-11-03. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
NOW Foods certificate of analysis site (sample lot 3355605, peppermint 1 fl oz). Maker’s page. Shows the certificate and GC profile NOW publishes by lot number; the identity and contaminant tests are marked approved. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
NOW certificate of analysis, peppermint lot 3355605 (PDF). Maker’s page. Dated 2024-03-25. Heavy metals by ICP-MS: arsenic 0, cadmium 0, lead 41, mercury 10 ppb. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
NOW GC profile, peppermint lot 3355605 (PDF). Maker’s page. GC-FID and MS, analyzed 2024-03-20; 82 components; says the oil meets NOW’s in-house standard. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
NOW: Essential Oil Safety FAQs. Maker’s page. Aromatherapy only, not for internal use; caution for children, pets and pregnancy. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
NOW: Ambassador Program FAQs. Maker’s page. Free product and case-by-case sponsorship for athletes and coaches with at least 5,000 followers. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Mamavation: essential oils tested for toxic phthalates. Test report. February 2025. 22 lavender and peppermint oils, 11 brands; NOW 100% Pure Peppermint 223 ppb total phthalates. Full raw data is behind a free account. Mamavation earns affiliate income on Amazon sales. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Amazon listing for NOW Peppermint Oil, 1 fl oz. Independent source. $6.70 on 2026-11-03, shipper and seller Amazon.com; manufacturer shown as NOW Sports - Nutrition and Wellness. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
iHerb listing for NOW Peppermint, 1 fl oz (30 ml). Independent source. $6.70 and in stock on 2026-11-03. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Walmart listing for NOW Peppermint Oil, 1 ounce. Independent source. $6.70 on 2026-11-03, sold by Walmart.com. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
openFDA food enforcement reports: NOW Health Group. Certifier or regulator listing. Six terminated reports under this spelling and 14 under “Now Foods”; foods and supplements only. Searched 2026-11-03. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
California Attorney General: Prop 65 60-day notice search for “NOW Health”. Certifier or regulator listing. 18 notices naming NOW Health Group, 2005 to 2025: lead or cadmium in supplements and foods, lovastatin in red yeast rice, PCBs in fish oil, hormones in creams, lead in toothpaste (2025) and pulegone in pennyroyal oil (2015). A search for “NOW Foods” adds one withdrawn 2017 notice. None names peppermint or tea tree oil. Searched 2026-11-03. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
California Attorney General: Prop 65 notice 2015-00413 (pulegone, pennyroyal oil). Certifier or regulator listing. Filed 2015-04-20 by the Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation against Piping Rock, Lotus Brands, NOW Health Group, Penn Herb and Camden-Grey Essential Oils; chemical pulegone, source “Pennyroil oil”. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
OEHHA: Proposition 65 listing for pulegone. Certifier or regulator listing. Listed as causing cancer on 2014-04-18 (Labor Code basis). Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Vitacost listing for NOW Foods Essential Oils Peppermint, 1 fl oz (30 ml). Independent source. $6.70 and in stock on 2026-11-03; UPC 733739075857. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
NOW Foods certificate of analysis site (home page). Maker’s page. Lookup by lot number. Says results are not yet online for every product, especially oils made before 2023, and calls NOW’s in-house labs ISO 17025 accredited. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
CPSC recall list search for “essential oil”. Certifier or regulator listing. 48 recalls, mainly wintergreen and birch oils without child-resistant caps; none under NOW’s name (a search for “NOW Foods” returned nothing). Searched 2026-11-03. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Alternatives Other options to compare 2 options

NOW Tea Tree Essential Oil Same maker and lot-level certificate system; independently tested for authenticity by ConsumerLab in 2022, at $8.99 for 1 fl oz. It is not for use on cats or by mouth either.
Plant Therapy Organic Lavender Essential Oil A different plant, but USDA organic with two outside-lab lot reports and 40 ppb phthalates in the same Mamavation test, at about $11.99 for 10 mL.

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