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IFRA will publish a list of fragrance ingredients being used by the industry’s customers in consumer goods by December 31st 2009 on its website: www.ifraorg.org . This proactive initiative will supplement the fragrance industry’s overall safety program communication and respond to the changing marketplace where consumers are seeking more information about the ingredients in the products they use safely in their everyday lives. “To support our goal of increased transparency, we have determined that publishing an alphabetized list of fragrance ingredients would be helpful when communicating the industry’s extensive safety program,” said Jean-Pierre Houri, IFRA Director General. Currently, IFRA’s Safety Program is based on the IFRA Code of Practice* and the IFRA Standards which, using risk assessments, prohibit and restrict the use of fragrance materials in consumer goods if there is any safety concern for human health or the environment. The Code of Practice and the Standards must be adhered to by all IFRA member companies. The list of fragrance ingredients will be generated from the IFRA 2008 Use Survey. This survey is carried out on a regular basis amongst IFRA affiliated member companies representing approximately 90% of the world’s production volume of fragrances and will take several months to complete. The list will be updated according to the substances used by IFRA affiliated member companies. The materials, both natural and synthetic, will be listed alphabetically by their chemical name and their Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number**. This initiative enhances the transparency of the North American Communication initiative where manufacturers of cleaning products, air care products, automotive care products, polishes and floor maintenance products will voluntarily disclose ingredients in these products by January 1, 2010. The initiative is led by the Canadian Consumer Speciality Products Association (CCSPA), and in the United States by the Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA) and The Soap & Detergent Association (SDA) ***. “The publishing of the IFRA list of ingredients is aligned with industry’s efforts to be more transparent while at the same time protecting proprietary details of the specific fragrance formulae,” explained Houri. “Our actions also demonstrate the responsibility and accountability of the fragrance industry and our commitment to communicate our extensive safety program.” Notes to Editors: *The science behind the IFRA Code of Practice comes from the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM), formed in 1966 to analyze, evaluate and distribute scientific data, cooperate with official agencies and encourage safety standards for the use of fragrance ingredients. All scientific findings are evaluated by an independent Expert Panel. The Panel is an internationally known group of experts in dermatology, pathology, toxicology, environmental, respiratory, and reproductive sciences. The Panel advises RIFM on strategic approach, reviews protocols and evaluates all of RIFM's scientific findings.Its evaluations are used by IFRA to develop the IFRA Standards. For more information about RIFM or the Expert Panel go to http://www.rifm.org/ or email rifm@rifm.org The IFRA Code of Practice obliges IFRA member companies to be subject to the IFRA Compliance Program which involves the analysis of a variety of consumer products for the presence of fragrance ingredients regulated by the IFRA Standards. These products are randomly selected from different categories - fragrance, cosmetics, toiletries, household products and detergents - and from ten different countries. The product analysis is executed by the independent scientific testing laboratory Eurofins**** following strict procedures to ensure confidentiality and impartiality.The first two yearly cycles of the Compliance Program have shown 100% compliance. **CAS Numbers (often referred to as CAS RNs or CAS Registry Numbers) are unique identifiers for chemical substances. A CAS Registry Number itself has no inherent chemical significance but providesan important way to link a fragrance material and a numerical identifier to identify a chemical substance or molecular structure when there are many possible systematic, generic, proprietary, or trivial names. CAS Registry Numbers are used in many other public and private databases as well as chemical inventory listings and, of course, are included in all CAS-produced databases. CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service) is a division of the American Chemical Society. CAS is the producer of the largest and most comprehensive databases of chemical information. The principal databases are Chemical Abstracts (CASM), which contains over 30 million document records from the chemical journal and patent literature, and CAS REGISTRYSM, which contains more than 46 million substance and 60 million sequencerecords. CAS also operates STN International, an online service with partner organizations in Europe and Asia. STN provides access to a broad range of respected science and technology databases. *** CCSPA, CSPA and SDA websites have more information on the Consumer Product Ingredient Communication Initiative at http://www.healthycleaning101.org/english/consumeringredientcommunication.pdf, http://www.cspa.org/public/media/info/cpici.html and www.cleaning101.com/about/11-24-08.cfm. **** Eurofins Scientific is a leading international group of laboratories providing a range of testing and support services to the pharmaceutical, food, environmental and consumer products industries as well as governments. They have 8000 employees across 150 sites in 29 countries. For more details go to: http://www.eurofins.com/ For more information about IFRA visit www.ifraorg.org or e-mail sweller@ifraorg.org.
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