Citrus Perfumery Ingredients may be banned

The April Cropwatch Newsletter is now out and Online, and Tony discusses at length the threat to the use of citrus oils in perfumery by EU Cosmetics regulators who plan to restrict furanocoumarins (FCF's) in cosmetics to less than 1 ppm. He lays out the history of citrus use in perfumery and lays out the case that the decision to ban the FCF's has already been taken, and that this will prove to be an unfair burden on the smaller manufacturers. He also lays out the case that there is actually no proof that FCF's are harmful at 1 ppm.

It is quite clear, too, that our supporters believe these measures are totally ‘over the top’. Bergamot oil for example has an almost ubiquitous use in fragrances (see below) so where are all the predicted adverse fragrance end user reactions? We haven’t actually got a citrus oil derived photo-chemical cancer epidemic on our hands - quite the opposite - we have a near zero reporting of adverse reactions from modern citrus/FCF-containing perfumes.

Tony goes on to discuss the IFRA position, and  lay out the case for action via The Campaign for Real Perfume, about which I'm sure we'll be hearing more. The newsletter is extensively documented and should be read by everyone who has an interest in the future of natural perfumery or natural cosmetics.