Not sure if this has been posted before:
"Under rules implemented by the European Commission in 2006, 26 common ingredients including the now-infamous tree moss and eugenol (found in rose oil), must be declared on the packaging of perfume because they are potentially allergenic. Now it has emerged that the Commission’s Scientific Committee of Consumer Safety, charged with protecting citizens from harmful substances, has extended the list to cover 100 ‘unsafe’ materials.
While they recommend that some must be declared on packaging or the amount used in a perfume be restricted, they want some — including the tree moss used in Chanel No 5 to help give it its distinctive smell — banned entirely.
And while these are only guidelines and not law, it is likely that perfume manufacturers will feel pressure to comply. The industry watchdog, the International Fragrance Association, is taking it so seriously it has decided to conduct further research into the potential skin allergens on the back of the recommendations.
This doesn't affect only Chanel; a host of other well-loved perfumes — from Miss Dior to Guerlain’s Shalimar and Angel by Thierry Mugler — could be caught up, too. For the new list calls for restrictions of many commonly used ingredients such as citral, found in lemon and tangerine oils, and coumarine, which comes from the spicy South American tonka bean — all naturally sourced ingredients, it should be pointed out, which have been used for decades in perfume-making without causing serious harm. It is even feared that jasmine and rose — some of the most common ingredients in the world’s favourite scents — could be put on future lists.
So will all these women really fail to notice if the formula is changed? Perfumer Roja Dove is not so sure. While he admits that it has been necessary to remove certain common components of fragrances over the last century — both for health reasons, such as when benzene was phased out when it was discovered to be a potential carcinogen, and ethical ones, like the disappearance of musks taken from slaughtered animals — he says it is never easy to recreate a well-known scent with different raw materials.
‘It’s impossible to reformulate without making a product smell different — that is why the original ingredients were used in the first place,’ he says. Dove, as a leading figure within the British perfume industry, is more than a little troubled by the ‘Big Brother’ restrictions that are gradually taking hold. ‘While I do think the consumer’s health and well being should always be our first priority, imagine if Brussels authorised for all nut products to be banned or restricted because a few people are allergic,’ he says.
‘There’s huge inconsistency. Just look at basil. I have to list it on the back of packaging if I use more than a certain percentage because it’s one of the original list of 26 the European Commission decided must be declared.
‘But a chef can take a huge bunch of basil, chop it up and sprinkle it over food, and their hands will be covered with basil oil. There are no guidelines there.’ He does make a valid point. Many of the ingredients that are now being considered dangerous are even edible. So what does Roja Dove suggest for the future? ‘As an industry, we are very responsible. We would never want to use ingredients that were scientifically proven to be a major problem, but I do believe consumers should have freedom of choice. ‘There are scents around that people have loved for centuries, so is it right to do away with them entirely? I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions.’
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2228944/Chanel-No-5-EU-threats-ban-perfumes-key-ingredients.html#ixzz2BWrdkkZa "
