ABSTRACT
The self-limiting effect of odorant compounds was probably a key element for appreciating the safety “under condition of intended use”, but a long history of uses is also an important driving force for classifying odorant compounds and EOs as “generally recognized as safe” by the Food and Drug Administration. Plants produce substances necessary for their life. The pollinator-attracting function of some compounds is quite well known, but there are also substances useful for protection. Safety evaluation has been mainly based on a constituent approach. In Europe, a set of bioactive substances were identified in different EOs and used to define a threshold of toxicological concerns in the flavouring regulations. As for the EO yields, their ranges are quite large, because it is never clear whether the raw material has been processed fresh or dried.
