First Person: IFEAT 2010

The 2010 International Federation of Essential Oils and Aroma Trades (IFEAT) conference, held September 26–30 in Marrakech, Morroco, offers a unique, rare opportunity to combine meet many people and friends from this vast industry and also to learn about new topics. At each congress it seems as though the frontiers of our F&F ingredient world continue to expand. IFEAT is about people, from all corners of the world, passionate about this amazing essential oils and aromas business. During the presentations in Marrakech, attendees learned and interacted with many specialists from Morroco, Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, and sub-Saharan African countries.

Changes to EU fl avoring regulations in 2011 are an important step to ascertain our needs for the very near future. Today, numerous investments in fl avor ingredients and novelties are waiting for a clear legal framework within the European Union (EU). Similarly, customers do not want to launch new products without a legal green light. It is expected that this clarity will come soon; however, we will have the opportunity to learn more from various leading experts who are working on this matter with the EU’s committee of experts. In addition, the IFEAT conference will be updated on the US regulatory environment, which seems to be changing almost daily, and has the potential to have a profound impact on the global F&F industry.

The challenge of proposed EU pesticide legislation is another complex topic. IFEAT’s scientifi c committee has held a meeting with the European Commission about various topics including pesticide concentrations. The purpose is to make sure that the EU fully understands some specifi c aspects of our industry, and how to address specifi c problems according to best manufacturing practices, which also will depend on good agricultural practices (prevention of cross-contamination when treating neighboring fi elds with pesticides).

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