RIFM Project
The Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM) is an independent non-profit scientific organisation dedicated to the safety evaluation of fragrance materials, including essential oils and Natural Complex Substances (NCS). RIFM’s NCS Safety Assessment Programme aims to build a recognised, publicly available database that IFEAT Members can use to promote safe product use to governments, regulators, and the public.
Having completed safety assessments of more than 2,250 individual (discrete) fragrance materials, RIFM is uniquely positioned to evaluate NCS, which are composed of many of these same substances. This allows RIFM to efficiently evaluate the many complex natural mixtures used in fragrance.
RIFM and the independent Expert Panel for Fragrance Safety have evaluated more than 150 NCS covering 22 groups according to their plant taxonomy (Amaryllidaceae; Annonaceae; Apiaceae; Asteraceae; Caprifoliaceae; Citrus; Cupressaceae; Fabaceae; Geraniaceae; Iridaceae; Labiatae; Lamiaceae; Lauraceae; Myrtaceae; Oleaceae; Orchidaceae; Pinaceae; Poaceae; Rosaceae; Rutaceae; Santalaceae; and Styracaceae), with a plan to complete testing on first round naturals, for a total of 600 of relevance to IFEAT Members by 2028. The first Expert Panel- and peer-reviewed assessments have already been published by Elsevier and are available in the public domain (petitgrain mandarin oil; orange essence oil; mandarin oil terpenes; tangelo oil, expressed; Lavandin abrialis; Pinus nigra oil; sage oil, Spanish; clove bud absolute; ho bark oil; ho leaf oil; ho wood oil; and savory winter oil).
All RIFM safety assessments are freely available to IFEAT Members via the Elsevier Fragrance Materials Safety Resource database:
Plant Protection Products (PPP) and Agricultural Residues Pilot Project
The IFEAT Plant Protection Products (PPP) Project has successfully completed all four phases of sample collection, testing, and analysis. In total, 19 Natural Complex Substances (NCSs) were tested, encompassing over 300 samples provided by 22 sponsors globally. Initial findings from this project were presented at both the IFEAT Berlin and Bangkok Conferences. A report detailing the initial observations and early-stage recommendations will be shared with IFEAT members. Furthermore, IFEAT will submit this work for peer-reviewed publication.
G4 Heads of Association
In addition to IFEAT’s projects and events, the Federation also actively participates and helps host the G4 Heads of Associations (G4). This group, consisting of IFEAT, EFEO, IFRA, and IOFI, works to address industry-wide issues, and coordinate their activities related to these. These include coordinating joint responses, including combined submissions for urgent issues; Regulatory Workshops and Seminars; NCS safety assessments; Contaminants and agricultural residues; sustainability initiatives; and communication on new industry-wide projects. The work of the G4 also includes input from the NCS Advisory Group (NAG) – an inter-association group of which IFEAT is also a member. The NAG looks at more technical areas related to safety and regulation of NCSs and considers the impact of those areas along all parts of the F&F value chain.
