The Wilson Center’s Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies has reported that products making nanotechnology claims have more than doubled, from 212 to 475, since March 2006. (The group launched its online inventory of nanotech goods at that time.) According to the Center, “nanotechnology was incorporated into more than $50 billion in manufactured goods.” And, “since fiscal year 2001, the US has invested over $8 billion in nanotechnology research. In 2006 alone, over $12 billion was spent worldwide on nanotechnology research and development by governments and industry.” According to the group, the United States leads the nanotechnology pack, with 52% of the reported products. In second place was East Asia. The group maintains that the nanotech boom is just the beginning, and expects the number to grow rapidly over the next few years. To date, the flavor and fragrance industry has represented a tiny sliver of this boom.

Takasago Expands Its Fine Fragrance Footprint (pg. 26—2 pages)
Jeb Gleason-Allured, Editor

A look inside a new Manhattan-based fi ne fragrance studio

Takasago has established a foothold in Manhattan, the heart of US fine fragrance. The Takasago gallery and fragrance studio, which serves as the primary work center for the company’s US fine fragrance creative, marketing and sales team, occupies a penthouse space in Midtown, within walking distance of many major international brands. This new gallery space coincides with the recent change in corporate structure for fine fragrance, which is now under the leadership of Luc Malfait, general manager of global fine fragrance and president of Takasago Europe.

An Air Sculptor in His Own Words (pg. 31—4 pages)
Jeb Gleason-Allured, Editor

Perfumer Christophe Laudamiel discusses his recent “air sculptures,” special raw materials, the creative process and collaborative relationships

In the secretive, under-the-radar profession of perfumery, IFF’s Christophe Laudamiel stands out. This high-profile perfumer has undertaken a number of attention-grabbing projects and speaking engagements, a break from the stereotypical “invisible” nose.
In addition to contributing to fine fragrance projects such as Clinique Happy Heart, Estée Lauder Youth Dew Amber Nude and Ralph Lauren Polo Blue, Laudamiel has gained notoriety for a collection of 15 fragrances inspired by Patrick Süskind’s novel, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. In addition, as part of a collaborative program run by IFF, he has lectured on fragrance design at The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium.

An Oasis in the Land of Confusion (pg. 36—3 pages)
Jeb Gleason-Allured, Editor

A new personal care and cosmetics-oriented organization throws its hat into the fragmented organic certification ring—where do fragrances stand?

The current consumer climate, particularly in the United States, is generally anti-business, in no doubt spurred by recent spates of global product recalls. The negative atmosphere was recently highlighted in comments presented by National Media analysts Alex Castallonos and Bruce Haynes during this year’s annual meeting of the Personal Care Products Council. Castallonos and Haynes noted that consumers receive sometimes disorienting information from a range of sources, including the media and NGOs that are rarely pro-fragrance or cosmetics.

Technical and Philosophical Notes on the Perfumery Creative Process (pg. 40—3 pages)
Arcadi Boix Camps, Auram Art & Perfume

Lessons derived from global scent tracking—Brazil, Vietnam, the Middle East and beyond

Since my arrival in Brazil at age 20, I realized that creativity is just the ability to make, or otherwise bring into existence, something new, be it new solutions to a problem, a new method or device, or a new artistic object or form. This realization was an inducement to action, an essential and continuing tension between environmental constancies and the interruption of equilibrium in the interest of new possibilities of experience. I observed this in all the great musicians and poets of that time, especially Vinicius de Moraes— tensions between such dualities as intellect and intuition, the conscious and the unconscious, the conventional and the unconventional, and complexity and simplicity.

Organic Flavors: Staying Ahead of the Curve (pg. 46—3 pages)
Kelly Frederick, Associate Editor

How one company is positioning for the booming organic flavor market

It is estimated that organic food sales have increased by nearly 20% annually since 1990, with consumer sales reaching $16.7 billion in 2006. And, according to Mintel, this “trend” will continue to grow; organic food sales are expected to rise 59% by 2012, while the organic beverage market is projected to grow by 65% over the same period. With the increased demand to introduce new organic products to consumers, it’s no wonder that the flavor industry has had to dramatically increase its organic flavor development.
Aromatech, a French-based flavors company created in 1987, launched its first organic flavor range in 2000. Yvan Grattarola, the company’s general manager, explained that delving into organics was a way for the company to differentiate itself from the big F&F players. Guided primarily by customer requests, Aromatech worked closely with Ecocert (a France-based organic certification organization) to develop some of its first organic flavors. From there, Grattarola explains, “we attended our first trade show in Biofach [World First Organic Fair] where we improved our knowledge in the National Organic Program thanks to BCS [BCS Öko-Garantie GmbH], our current certifier in the United States.” At the beginning of its organic endeavors the company focused on beverage, dairy and fruit flavors. These categories are still today three of the top four organic food categories in sales (see T-1).

Allergic Contact Dermatitis to Linalool (pg. 52—4 pages)
Jurij Hostynek and Howard Maibach, University of California School of Medicine

An examination of experimental data disqualifies linalool’s fragrance allergen status

Linalool has been identified as an important fragrance allergen that must be package-labeled in European cosmetics and personal care, and is in fact one of the 26 fragrance ingredients with mandated labeling in the European Community. Does evidencebased methodology support this contention? Linalool has otherwise been cited as a moderately frequent cause of allergic contact dermatitis.
This article reviews the published data on the allergenicity of linalool (3,7-dimethyl-1,6-octadien-3-ol; CAS# 78-70-6; EINECS 201-134-4) (F-1) relating to its relative potency as a skin sensitizer. A semiquantitative evaluation of the different reports cited below has been made in accordance with the system outlined in Maibach et al.,1 which is based on the procedures proposed by Benezra et al.2 and describes the scoring system used for assigning the degree of confidence in data reported.

Progress in Essential Oils (pg. 58—6 pages)
Brian M. Lawrence

Lawrence discusses the composition of thyme oil (Thymus vulgaris L.) from Italy, Lithuania, Renunion, Brazil, Germany, Jordan and Cuba. Additionally, he covers the composition of Spanish thyme oil (Thymus zygis L.).

Organoleptic Characteristics of Flavor Materials (pg. 66—2 pages)
Gerard Mosciano

Materials evaluated: 4,5-Dihydro-3(2H)-Thiophenone (Treatt); Dodecanal Dimethyl Acetal (Bedoukian Research); trans-3-Hexenol (Bedoukian Research); trans-3-Hexenyl Acetate (Bedoukian Research); S-Isopropyl 3-Methylbut-2-Enethioate (Treatt); Menthyl Lactate (Taste Advantage); 3-Mercapto-3-Methyl-1-Butyl Acetate (Treatt); 2-Methyl-3-Furanthiol (Treatt); 3-(Methylthio)Propyl Acetate (Treatt); Nonanal Dimethyl Acetal (Bedoukian Research); Oleoresin Cassia SOR (Lionel Hitchen (Essential Oils) Ltd.); 1-Pentanethiol (Treatt); 2-Pentylthiophene (Treatt); Safraleine (Vigon International)