To access the Safety Assessment Sheet, use the pull down menu above to search by either CAS number or chemical name or synonym.
The purpose of the RIFM safety assessment is to assure the safe use of fragrance materials in consumer products. Assessments of the data supporting the safe use of fragrance materials follow the updated Criteria Document. The Criteria Document provides guidance on conducting safety assessments and is designed to incorporate the best science to appropriately evaluate fragrance ingredients using the latest testing strategies and methods. The assessments may be found by using the search feature above. Previously published assessments may be found at the links below.
RIFM is the international scientific authority for the safe use of fragrance materials. RIFM’s Mission is to engage in research and evaluation of fragrance materials through the guidance of an independent panel of scientific experts and has a long history of disseminating results in peer-reviewed scientific journals. For more information on RIFM and its mission go to www.rifm.org.
This Criteria Document details recent updates to the RIFM safety assessment process, reflecting advances in approaches in risk assessment and new and classical toxicological methodologies employed by RIFM over the past 10 years. These changes include incorporating:
New scientific information including a framework for choosing structural analogs
Consideration of the Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC)
Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) for dermal contact sensitization
Respiratory route of exposure
Aggregate exposure assessment methodology
Latest methodology and approaches to risk assessments
Safety evaluation of the large number of diverse chemicals used as fragrance ingredients follows a systematic prioritization of data generation and analysis, consideration of exposure and critical analysis of the quality of the available information.
Peter A. Cadby, William R. Troy, Matthias G. H. Vey
To fully apply already published procedures for the safety evaluation of fragrance ingredients, it is necessary to estimate exposure through different routes and leading to different potential endpoints.
Design and feasibility of an international study assessing the prevalence of contact allergy to fragrances in the general population: The European Dermato-Epidemiology Network Fragrance Study.
Rossi M, Coenraads PJ, Diepgen T, et al. Dermatology. 2010;221:267-275.
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Ensuring the toxicological safety of fragrance ingredients used in personal care and cosmetic products is essential in product development and design, as well as in the regulatory compliance of the products.
Based on chemical, cellular, and molecular understanding of dermal sensitization, an exposure-based quantitative risk assessment (QRA) can be conducted to determine safe use levels of fragrance ingredients in different consumer product types.
With implementation of the dermal sensitization QRA approach for fragrance ingredients, IFRA/RIFM are recommending use of the RIFM standard human repeated insult patch test (HRIPT) protocol for generation of confirmatory human data for the induction of dermal sensitization in a normal human population.
The Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) is a pragmatic approach in risk assessment. In the absence of data, it sets up levels of human exposure that are considered to have no appreciable risk to human health.
Fragrance materials are widely used in cosmetics and other consumer products. The Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM) evaluates the safety of these ingredients and skin absorption is an important parameter in refining systemic exposure.
Click here to learn about 50 years of innovation in the safety assessment of raw fragrance matials, the role of RIFM’s Expert Panel, and the latest method of calculating aggregate exposure in consumers.
RIFM is the international scientific authority for the safe use of fragrance materials. RIFM’s Mission is to engage in research and evaluation of fragrance materials through the guidance of an independent panel of scientific experts and has a long history of disseminating results in peer-reviewed scientific journals. For more information on RIFM and its mission go to 
