At the 23rd Regulatory Issues Conference - Perfumes & Cosmetics held on November 19 and 20, 2025, Frédéric Lebreux, Head of Human Safety Sciences at Givaudan, presented an overview of fragrance ingredients “under the spotlight,” whose conditions of use are set to change or which are threatened with prohibition. He began by providing an overview of the upcoming changes to IFRA Standards.
The main purpose of the IFRA (International Fragrance Association) Standards is to ensure the safety of raw materials used in perfumery for health and the environment. They define conditions for the safe use of fragrance ingredients and are updated regularly. The 52nd Amendment to the IFRA Standards is expected shortly.
IFRA 52
“Spoiler alert,” began Frédéric Lebreux, “it’s going to be disappointing. And it’s all the more frustrating because I’m in the working group that sets IFRA standards, but I’ve been told: Shhh! Don’t say anything because we’re not in the consultation period yet.”
That didn’t stop him from sharing some information anyway.
This 52nd Amendment will include:
• 40 new restriction standards to address skin sensitization and systemic toxicity effects;
• 11 new restriction standards based solely on skin sensitization effects;
• 15 revisions to restriction standards to reflect recent scientific developments;
• 1 revision to a specification standard (musk ketone) to include usage limits;
• 1 revision to a restriction standard (furocoumarins) concerning phototoxicity.
This may seem like a lot of changes, but according to Frédéric Lebreux, the impact should be very reasonable and fairly modest in terms of reformulation.
The timeline
This …
