Expert Analysis Shows What Fragrance Exposure Really Means for Human Health

Real-world usage remains comfortably low.

MAHWAH, N.J., Feb. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM) has published a new peer-reviewed data analysis, in collaboration with academics in the United States and Europe, that addresses a frequently misunderstood safety science concept: the distinction between hazard and risk.

The study, "The difference between hazard and risk: the dose range prevalent in toxicological studies vs real life fragrance exposure," provides critical context on how exposure levels determine actual safety outcomes.

Everything we encounter has the potential to be hazardous. Toxicological studies identify hazards by using extremely high doses to detect adverse effects. However, these levels do not reflect the much lower exposure people experience when using fragranced products in everyday life. While these studies are scientifically sound, exposure must be considered to form a safety conclusion.

The research bridges this gap by comparing laboratory doses with realistic human scenarios using advanced exposure science and consumer data.

Researchers analyzed two fragrance ingredients that also occur in nature. They found that reaching the "hazardous" doses associated with adverse effects in lab studies would require unrealistic human behavior, such as:

• Consuming hundreds of thousands of certain foods daily over a lifetime.
  
  
• Applying tens of thousands of fragrance sprays every day over a lifetime.

"Hazard describes what a substance might do at different, often extremely high, doses," said Kaushal Joshi, PhD, DABT, RIFM Principal Scientist and study co-author. "Risk reflects what actually happens at real-world levels. This study reinforces why exposure is the key driver of safety."

For over a decade, RIFM has used high-quality existing data and probabilistic modeling to protect consumers without testing on animals for any of its human health endpoints.

Anne Marie Api, PhD, Fellow ATS, RIFM President, and study co-author, confirmed: "When hazard information is combined with realistic exposure data, it's clear the risk associated with normal fragrance use is extremely low."

Read the analysis: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yrtph.2026.106063

Watch: Fragrance Safety Explained: Why Scientists Say You Don't Need to Worry

About RIFM

RIFM is an independent international non-profit scientific organization that assesses the safety of fragrance ingredients by the most current, internationally accepted guidelines, and has done so since its founding in 1966. RIFM's peer-reviewed safety assessments and research are free to the public via fragrancematerialsafetyresource.elsevier.com.

Media Contact:

The Research Institute for Fragrance Materials
Gary Sullivan
Marketing & Communications Manager
[email protected]

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SOURCE Research Institute for Fragrance Materials