According to IFRA1 and IOFI2 (2020)3, the “main activity of a Flavor & Fragrance company is the combination (blending) of ingredients to produce complex fragrance mixtures, called compounds based on a specific formula (formulation). It is also possible that mixtures are produced that carry a special odor and are used by other companies as a component of a fragrance.” The industry creates scents and tastes which are used in a broad range of consumer products, such as prepared foods, personal care and household products, fine fragrances, cosmetics, and beverages. The ingredients for these product types can be either raw or synthetic.4 Flavor & Fragrance companies sell the fragrance or flavor compound (based on a formulation) to manufacturers of finished consumer products for the production of e.g. cosmetics or personal care products, food and beverage products.5 In the F&F industry, based on information from regular volume of use surveys performed in the industry, approximately 6000 ingredients of synthetic or natural origin are currently used. The materials traded internationally are mostly derivatives in the form of essential oils or extracts. When obtaining materials for research and development, there is a clear distinction between buying the readily available essential oils, extracts or chemically modified materials from the trade, and accessing the original genetic material in the country of origin from which to make an extract. However, some of the genetic resources may also be available in the local markets of user countries as fruits, herbs, or spices from horticultural or culinary shops, either as imports or locally grown varieties.6

According to Tristar, the industry covers fresh food, food processing and packaged food, other modified foods as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. It includes all the companies involved in transforming raw agricultural goods into consumer food products and the distribution thereof. It does not cover raw food production, which falls into the closely related agriculture industry.  A food ingredient is any substance that is added to food or beverage to achieve a desired effect. According to Wynberg (2013) 1, the food and beverage industry utilizes genetic resources in less prominent sectors than it uses biological resources from the agricultural sector. However, in the past decade, scientific, technological and market changes have resulted in an increasing use of genetic resources in innovative products, such as novel foods, nutrigenomics, biotechnology, nanotechnology, bioactive ingredients, processing techniques and flavors. This includes the use of microorganisms in bio-processing “to create new flavors, colours or synthetic forms of natural ingredients” and the investigation in “new species and traditional foods for interesting bioactive compounds” to add “new nutritive ingredients to functional foods”; or to develop “highly specialiced medical and personalised foods based on genetic resources”. These newer trends thus provide a broader spectrum of opportunities for the utilization of genetic resources including using Novel enzymes from microorganisms to make cheeses or create new flavours and colours2 or use the resource’s ingredients for energizer products (for example Marula in a cocoa drink) or as a source of supplements, such as vitamins and micronutrients (e.g. Baobab, rooibos etc.). In addition, according to the International Food Additives Council, (IFAC), food additives are added to foods for specific technical and/or functional purposes during processing, storage or packaging. Direct food additives are used in foods to impart specific technological or functional qualities. For example, stabilizers are used to help prevent separation of nutrients in fortified milk products, while phosphates are used as a leavening agent in baked goods. Indirect additives are not intentionally added to food but may be present in trace amounts as a result of processing, packaging, shipping or storage.3 The applied R&D also leads to a greater involvement in Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) issues. However, ABS still is very new to the food and beverage sector and is not widely known or acknowledged by many of those involved and the awareness on ABS and its benefits remains low for most companies of the sector.4

While biodiversity was the key source for medicines and human health until the 20th century, today, traditional medicines have been replaced with pharmaceuticals in many parts of the world1 and in addition, there was a shift to combinatorial chemistry2. This shift was due to the time and cost involved in bioprospecting novel compounds as, the number of novel compounds discovered through bioprospecting began to plateau and the same compounds were re-discovered time and again, making bioprospecting uneconomic for the effort required. 34 In addition, scientific and technological advances have transformed the traditional ways of sourcing and production and companies are primarily interested in genetic material today, rather than organisms. That also resulted in blockages associated with screening natural product samples falling away and the same applies to the isolation of active compounds, and the scaling up raw material supply.5 According to Laird (2013), large companies have also re-organized their R&D strategies, “and are now often buyers of innovation through external alliances and partnerships. The trend for many years has been towards reduced internal basic research in large companies and more discovery taking place in smaller venture capital and government-funded biotech companies, and academia”, while R&D budgets across industry are shrinking. And while lager pharmaceutical companies well-informed of ABS regulations avoid collections that do not have necessary approvals from provider country governments, smaller companies and academia - often-funded by governments - are “more numerous and dispersed, and therefore difficult to monitor”.6 If bioprospecting shall play a role for the production of pharmaceutic products, “it would require a more focused approach, such as utilising the traditional knowledge of indigenous communities. Research has shown that where traditional knowledge is utilised, the chance of success in finding novel plant compounds increases to approximately 1 in 100”.7

Cosmetics can be defined as “any substance or mixture intended to be placed in contact with the various external parts of the human body or with the teeth and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity with a view to cleaning them, perfuming them, changing their appearance, protecting them, keeping them in good condition or correcting body odors.”1 They are used for a variety of different applications ranging from hair care, perfumes and fragrances through to beauty and personal care, nutricosmetics, or beauty supplements, as well as the rapidly developing category of cosmeceuticals, which typically include bioactive compounds.2 According to Wynberg & Laid (2013)3,the use of natural ingredients in the cosmetics industry has grown significantly over the past twenty years. This was due to growing consumer interest in health and well-being, and the increased demand for organic and fair trade products. “At the same time, this sector has experienced a substantial turnaround with regard to awareness in access and benefit sharing and commitment to ethical sourcing practices.” The practical implementation of this awareness remains complex and difficult. Derivatives are defined as extraction products of genetic resources or parts thereof, or “products produced and secreted by genetic resources, like proteins, lipids, enzymes, RNA or organic compounds like flavonoids, oils or resins”.4 The European ABS Regulation from 31/0572019 provides the following examples of derivatives which are used in the cosmetics sector: • “From plant: oils from food plants and/or non-food plants, such as palm oil, palm kernel oil, rapeseed oil, apricot kernel oil, aloe vera gel juice, essential oils, plant carbohydrates, flavonoids, triterpenoids, saponins, tocopherol, plant extracts , plant resins, waxes such as from jojoba, carnauba, vitamins, etc. • From microorganisms: vitamins, e.g. coenzyme Q10 or biopolymers e.g. polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. • From animals: wool grease, honey, beeswax, milk, etc.; and • From marine organisms: algae extract”5