PERFUME ANALYSIS IN OUR LABORATORIES

Dr. Simone Gabbanini, Quality Control

The fragrances , the essential oils hey perfumes that derive from it, play a central role in motivating the consumer to purchase a specific product; on the other hand, olfactory memory is an unconscious mechanism that conditions the learning processes and is capable of stimulate all the other senses.

How are perfumes born?

Until the Second Industrial Revolution (1870), perfumes were rigorously packaged from essential oils or natural extracts (animals and/or plants), but with the sudden availability on the market of synthetic molecules we began, for economic reasons and ease of formulation, to do increasingly frequent use of the latter to the detriment of the former.

Nowadays perfume industries employ mostly artificial molecules And natural‑identical since they allow you to clearly define a specific aroma or the desired fragrance; these can then sometimes be used mixed with natural essential oils, to obtain more sophisticated fragrances.

Since the perfume industry protects its formulas by using expensive patents , the legislation allows perfumes to be indicated on the labels of cosmetics that contain them with the simple wording “Fragrance/Parfum” in the list (INCI) of ingredients , without specifying the chemical composition to the consumer.

This concession, while on the one hand protecting the intellectual property of the perfumer, on the other hand allows, on balance, to omit some regulated or prohibited substances from the list of ingredients, such as certain types of preservatives, colorants and sunscreens, to the detriment of safety. of the consumer. Precisely to better protect the consumer, the Directive 2003/15/EC of the European Parliament, he identified 26 allergenic substances, present mainly in perfumes, which, if detected above certain concentrations in the finished cosmetic product, must be strictly indicated on the label.

The importance of quantitative control over perfumes and aromas

This concession, while on the one hand protecting the intellectual property of the perfumer, on the other hand allows, on balance, to omit some regulated or prohibited substances from the list of ingredients, such as certain types of preservatives, colorants and sunscreens, to the detriment of safety. of the consumer. Precisely to better protect the consumer, the Directive 2003/15/EC of the European Parliament, he identified 26 allergenic substances, present mainly in perfumes, which, if detected above certain concentrations in the finished cosmetic product, must be strictly indicated on the label.

Furthermore, the adoption of the new European regulation (EC) n.1223/2009 has made it mandatory, for every cosmetic product, including perfumes, if placed on the European Community market, the replacement of the old "Technical Dossier" (Directive 76/768/EEC being repealed) with a new, more structured document called Product Information File (PIF), in Italian " Product Information Documentation ", which must also report toxicological data on the ingredients.

The main analyzes carried out by BeC laboratories on perfumes and essences are:

• Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the components in gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
• Qualitative-quantitative analysis GC-MS of allergens (according to Directive 2003/15/EC)
• UV-VIS Spectrophotometric Analysis of color
• Determination of the refractive index
• Stability for the purposes of evaluating the PAO (period after opening)
• Accelerated aging with qualitative-quantitative GC-MS analysis

Thanks to this service, BeC laboratories can put the ultra-thirty year old experience in the field of essential oils even more at the service of the consumer, protecting the Health and the safety.