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The fragrance facts, graded

Every fact on this site, with its evidence grade, its caveats, and a link to the source.

We start you on the strong ones: findings that have been replicated or come from one large, well-controlled study. Moderate and weak facts are here too, labeled for what they are. Use “Link to this fact” to share a single card.

2 facts match “work”

Hidden ingredients / Self-reported survey

About two-thirds (64.6%) of US adults did not know fragrance ingredients don't have to be listed on the label, and more than half would prefer fragrance-free workplaces (53.2% vs 19.7% against) and health care (54.8% vs 22.4%).

Moderate evidence: Opinion survey.

Source: Steinemann 2016, Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health Link to this fact

Hidden ingredients / Measured in people or real products

Most healthcare workers using disinfectants did not know whether the products they used contained quaternary ammonium compounds: 99 of 543 subjects (18.2%) could not be classified by exposure status from self-report alone, and researchers had to independently review Material Safety Data Sheets with 3 experts to determine actual product ingredients.

Moderate evidence.

Caveats

This describes a French occupational healthcare-worker population in 2006-2007, not consumers; it does not measure how well consumers can identify QACs in household cleaning products from labels today.

Source: Gonzalez 2014, Clinical & Experimental Allergy Link to this fact

Information, not medical advice. See also: myths we won’t tell you.