What is IFRA51? We answer all the questions you have about IFRA’s 51st amendment.

IFRA is The International Fragrance Association and is the governing body that regulates fragrances all over the world, it maintains the standards around fragrances so that people can continue to safely use and enjoy fragrances in different products in their everyday lives. In 2023, IFRA announced their 51st amendment to the IFRA standards, now known as IFRA 51. This amendment sees a number of changes to the rules around fragrance use including declared allergens and inclusion levels. We’ve had a lot of questions around this regulation change, so to help our customers navigate IFRA 51, we’ve put together this handy guide of frequently asked questions. 

What is it (in layman’s terms)?

IFRA 51 is a change to regulations about fragrance that impacts the usage levels of fragrance, named allergens in fragrances and what types of products can use certain fragrances at certain levels. 

Why is it happening?

IFRA is the governing body that maintains the rules and standards on the use of fragrances. This is a change that they have reviewed and implemented. This will have been influenced by many factors such as new research, safety reports and increased learnings about people and reactions.

How does it affect me?

As a brand, it means that all of your products that contain fragrances or essential oils, need to be checked and reviewed. We’ll get a new IFRA 51 statement and new list of allergens for all of those fragrances and check each product against the new guidelines. Depending on the outcome of this review, there is a small chance there could be no changes and you can continue as you were, it could most likely result in the need for a label change, or in the most severe cases it could mean that your product needs reformulating with a new fragrance.

What do I need to do about it?

You need to review the guideline shared by Group55 and instruct us to review your products. We’ll then take care of the rest. 

What will it cost?

There will be an admin fee to complete the review, then depending on the outcome the overall cost impact could vary depending on whether you’ll need to complete a label change or whether new formulations will be required.  

If I have the same fragrance across different products, will I need to pay for every product to be tested?

Each product will need to be assessed because there are different inclusion limits for different product types, every product would need to be assessed individually and the costs would be reflective of this.

How long will it take to come into effect?

We’ve got a while to implement this for existing formulations, with the cut off date for all existing products on the market to be in compliance by October 30th 2025. That being said, if the outcome of the review is going to impact your packaging or require a new formulation, time for this to be actioned need to be factored in, and you also need to consider the selling rate of your current product format. We’d recommend starting ASAP to ensure a smooth transition so that you’re not caught having to make significant changes too late.

What happens if I don’t do it?

After the cut off period, your labelling may be incorrect and your formulation could potentially be illegal. Therefore your safety assessment will be null and void and you’ll be at risk of product recalls, delisting and potential prosecution.

If you have any further questions about IFRA 51 and how to navigate this regulation change, reach out to your Group55 Commercial Manager or contact sales@group55.co.uk.