It’s no doubt happened to you.
You head off to a movie, Church, or an evening show of some kind and make your way to your seat. As you settle in, you quickly notice that a person sitting nearby, or worse, right next to you is reeking of cologne, perfume, or some other strong-smelling personal care product.
As much as you want to get away from this overpowering smell, you realize with dismay that you have nowhere to go. All the other seats are filled. Besides, it would be so rude to move!
Your hopes for an enjoyable event are dashed as the synthetic smells you are forced to inhale start to give you a nasty headache or worse, breathing problems.
Even if someone does not have an allergic reaction to synthetic aromas, the assault on one’s nostrils is still avoided by many who seek to limit chemical exposures of all kinds. I myself avoid going near Subway or the bakery of a Walmart, for example, as the fake food aromas wafting forth from the chemical infused bread, cakes and cookies that are baking are absolutely nauseating.
Chemical sensitivity to fragrances used by retailers is fairly common.
Chemical Fragrances to be Used in Food Packaging
Avoiding synthetic smells is about to get a whole lot trickier.
More chemical smells are on the way harnessed via an “invisible technology” which food and beverage companies hope will tantalize your nostrils as you shop, enticing you to buy, buy, BUY!
Steven Landau, Chief Technological Officer for ScentSational Technologies said:
“… the sense of smell has been the most neglected sense in brand marketing strategies. Of the five senses, smell is the most powerful in driving consumer preference, conjuring up memories and creating purchase intent. As a result, our customers [food and beverage companies] have been asking for a low cost technology to deliver aroma from the shelf.”
The fake food aromas are delivered to the potential consumer whenever a product is handled through a coating that adheres to the product packaging.
This patent-pending technology called “Encapscent” is applied as a microencapsulated coating (MEC) to the outside of the food or drug packaging. The custom flavored, FDA approved “food grade” coatings are protected by microscopic cells that are ruptured when the product is touched or picked up. The scent can be released over and over again as millions of these cells are applied to each and every package.
Mr. Landau insists the coating is in compliance with food packaging regulations and is safe for use with beverage, food and pharmaceutical packaging as it does not come into contact with the food or drug itself.
What about a child riding in a grocery cart who picks up a box of cookies, sniffs the box and then sucks his thumb?
Bet that hasn’t been tested, has it? No worries. By the time the general public figures out the likely health hazards from these deliciously aromatic yet completely synthetic coatings, all the people involved in the development of this “invisible technology” will most likely be long gone and relaxing in Dubai, courtesy of a very lucrative and ScentSational IPO.
So now our children are to be guinea pigs not only for the artificial ingredients inside the package but also the artificial flavors engineered for release into the air and no doubt onto your hands via the outside of the package?
It seems that taking your child shopping will be getting a whole lot more dangerous. Looks like it won’t just be the folks in the deli section who are wearing latex gloves.
And, as the lady in the picture is demonstrating, a surgical mask would probably be a good idea too.
Sources
ScentSational packaging coating delivers food or drink aroma
Scratch-n-Sniff has come a long way!
Perhaps on a positive note. This will potentially save me from reading the ingredients, if I can smell the crap from the shelf.
Another good point …..those annoying scents in magazines with the strong pefumes. I don’t buy magazines but I can smell them from a pretty far distance.
And good point Sarah….. on not buying the stuff …..but to get my really big family to not buy or handle will be tough. And some things you need to handle like t paper and the like. Unless someone has a home method of making toilet paper. I do pity the people working in those places that are subjected to smelling all those smells for hours a day.
You can use cloth toiletpaper and rewash it. Just like cloth wipes for babies.
Ok two things that I have trouble with is homemade cloth toilet paper and fish head soup. Well and maybe chicken stock with the head and feet of the chicken. And I am a pretty courageos person and will try most anything. But I’m just not this far yet into being Traditional. I think I’d rather use corn cobs or leaves for T paper before washing my own cloth ones. Yet i have no problem with cloth baby items. I need to broaden my mind some more on these things . Just not yet . 🙂
LOL. I second that!! Is cloth toilet paper really a traditional practice?? I would be very surprised.
Um, just a thought, but what exactly would they make t paper smell like?!
I have never understood the scented toilet roll/panty liner/dish sponge thing. Clean doesn’t have a smell!
Lauren I really meant that the molecules will be on every thing in the store. And on shopping cart handles etc . It’ll be on our hands …..and in the air .
For sure! People pick up.a packed to read the ingredients, then set it back down.. and after they do this to twenty different products these chemicals will be all over everything.
It’s not just about kids touching things on shelves. Now the minute you put them in the cart they are being exposed. Poor baby that touches it then rubs his eye, and poor moma going nuts trying to figure out what’s wrong.
And the minute you touch the container to open it, you’re going to need to wash your hands or you will be shoveling those chemicals in your mouth right along with those cookies.
I can’t wait to see the lawsuits from allergic reactions come out of this one. I hope they get taken to the cleaners. Lame.
I think that’s why the words “food” and “manufacturing” should be kept separate as much as possible….
I used to suffer terribly with chemical sensitivities and allergies.I can’t even imagine how frightening a trip to the grocery store would be for people that react the way i used to. 🙁
Oh, yuck!!!!! I hate artificial smells. At best they make me nauseated, and at worst they make it hard for me to breathe! My kids now refer to “air fresheners” as deadly neurotoxins.
I hate it when people wear overpowering perfumes or after-shave; or going into a public place only to be assaulted with cleaning fluid smells.
Or Tide, the worst!
All the more reason to stay away from the supermarket and shop locally.
Yep – thanks so much for your blog, I’m lovin’ it.
We will have to turn this concerning news into a positive by redoubling our efforts and commitment to shop as much as we possibly can with local, small businesses and farmers.
Gross.
winter is going to be a real pain in the butt, going to have to detox after every trip the the grocery store I guess lol