The RIFM is an international scientific authority that performs safety assessments on fragrance raw materials found in personal care and household care products.
An independent expert panel, including dermatologists, toxicologists and environmental scientists, reviews all RIFM data and the resulting reports and summaries are published in both peer-reviewed scientific journals and on the RIFM’s website.
According to the organization, the expert review panel ensures that research is unbiased and independent; a characteristic it is hoping to underline.
“We are trying to reach a broader audience to let everyone know that RIFM exists and how it works for the fragrance industry, and that the science is unbiased and reviewed by an independent Expert Panel that is not part of the fragrance industry,” RIFM communications manager Marie Gartshore told CosmeticsDesign.com USA.
‘Erroneous claims’
Gartshore said there were a number of claims being made in the press about the fragrance industry that were not true.
“We would like to counteract some of the erroneous claims in the press that the fragrance industry does not research its ingredients or is keeping the research a secret,” she said.
“These claims are of course not true and the research that RIFM performs is in addition to the research that the companies do for their products at every level of production from development to finished product,” Gartshore added.
Recent Human Health Group Summary
The organisation has recently published a Human Health Group Summary on its website.
Covering non-cyclic alcohols with unsaturated branch chains, the Human Health Group Summary finds there are no safety concerns regarding the use of these ingredients under the current use levels.
The report was first made available as a special issue in the peer-reviewed journal, Food and Chemical Toxicology, and is still available to subscribers on the RIFM database as well as being published on the organization’s website.
“…we would like everyone to know that the RIFM web site is a central place to come for information on fragrance ingredient science,” said Gartshore, commenting on the website’s publication of the summary.