The European Food Safety Authority considers lavender to be a potentially lethal substance, as it can cause death when inhaled, and can also cause allergic skin reactions and eye irritation. However, a new draft EU regulation goes even further and classifies lavender as downright dangerous.
According to the European Commission, the aim of the EU legislation is to create and protect an environment free of toxic substances. The regulation in question is part of a larger EU strategy that draws up a list of hazards and environmental burdens based on chemical components. In other words, in the case of lavender, not the plant itself, but its chemical molecules would be on the list.
With this step, the European Union puts several industries at risk at the same time, believes Alain Aubanel, the president of the French association for the protection of perfumes, aromas and herbs. On the one hand, the draft regulation makes it impossible for producers, which would affect Bulgaria and France the most among the EU member states. In the latter country, the plant provides a livelihood for more than 2,500 producers, and more than 300 companies deal with the processing of lavender and the production of cosmetics and perfumes.
If lavender is declared dangerous, economic sectors will disappear overnight, as it is not only an essential raw material, but also an important plant from a tourist point of view, says French producer Thierry Bizouard.
On the other hand, not only lavender will be affected, but also many essential oils and products made from natural materials. Even placing a raw material on the banned list can ruin the production and distribution of a product that has been made with natural essential oils for decades.
With this, the European Union can steer another important industry to the brink of bankruptcy, the cultivation of lavender could cease not only in France, but in the whole of Europe, added Alain Aubanel.
Source and image: Mandiner
