RIFM’s Winter Symposium

The Research Institute for Fragrance Materials, Inc. (RIFM), celebrated its 40th anniversary with a Winter Symposium, "Capturing the Hearts and Minds of the Marketplace." Held on December 6, 2006, at the Pleasantdale Chateau in West Orange, NJ, it was a departure from RIFM’s strictly technical offerings with some of the more creative aspects of the industry presented, too.

Ladd W. Smith, president of RIFM, introduced the symposium and then a highly entertaining RIFM film, What People Are Saying directed by Bill Cote, BC Video, Inc., was screened. Through on the street interviews, the short film, shot in various locations around NYC, gave a birdseye view of how a small cross-section of everyday consumers view fragrance use and the impact of the fragrance industry in their lives.

The day’s speakers included Thom DiGiacomo, senior perfumer at Quest International, who spoke about the challenges facing the perfumer in the light of regulatory ramifications, globalization and corporate merging, and escalating product launches. For the more technically minded there were breakout sessions covering RIFM’s studies in human health, environmental methodology, the RIFM/FEMA fragrance and flavor database and the respiratory program, as well as some of the industry challenges for the future like the REACH regulatory program in Europe and the new IFRA compliance program. More information on the Winter Symposium 2006 is available in the events archive of the events area of the RIFM web site at www.rifm.org.