All members of the Camara de la Industria de Sabores y Fragrances, the fragrance and flavours division of the Colombian National Association of Industrialists, will now comply with IFRA practices.
"We are very pleased to become a full member of IFRA," said Camara de la Industria de Sabores y Fragarances president Mario Alvarodiaz.
"All our companies abide by the IFRA code of conduct and apply the IFRA standards to their products ensuring quality and safety for the consumer," he added.
Members of the Camara are a mixture of international and domestic players including global giants Givaudan, Firmenich and Symrise, and Colombian company Disaromas.
Increasing significance of the region
Although Colombia remains a relatively small player on the global fragrance field, the move suggests the market has attained the 'critical mass' necessary to become a full member, director of communications Stephen Weller told CosmeticsDesign.com.
In addition, the association hopes Colombia's move may encourage other national bodies in the region to join the association.
Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina and Chile are all expanding, potential marketsand will hopefully join Brazil and Colombia as full members, said Weller.
Furthermore, Weller noted the importance of countries who adopt the IFRA standards as law, such as Brazil.
"The more countries that adopt the IFRA codes as legal practice the better.
The more consumers who have access to safe products the better," he said.
ASEAN countries also full members
The announcement follows hot on the heels of the ASEAN countries who became full members of IFRA several months ago.
Although at present the market significance of the region is not extensive, IFRA director general Jean-Pierre Houri has predicted an increasingly important role for the ASEAN countries in the future.
Currently a significant proportion of fragrance materials are sourced from the Asia Pacific area and Houri predicts that over time trade and export from this area will grow.
He expects an increasing number of international companies to up their manufacturing in the area and for local companies to expand and begin to compete with their European counterparts.