What is a CAS Number used for in perfumery?

A CAS Number uniquely identifies a chemical substance. It allows perfumers to verify that they are working with the correct raw material, regardless of supplier or trade name, and helps ensure accurate formulation and safety documentation.

Can two fragrance materials have the same CAS Number?

No. A CAS Number is unique to a specific chemical substance. However, the same material may be sold under different product or trade names by different suppliers while sharing the same CAS Number. This makes the CAS Number the most reliable way to identify fragrance materials accurately.

What is a CAS Number? Scent Inventory

What is a CAS Number? A CAS Number (Chemical Abstracts Service Number) is a unique numerical identifier assigned to a specific chemical substance. Unlike common or trade names, a…

What is a CAS Number?

A CAS Number (Chemical Abstracts Service Number) is a unique numerical identifier assigned to a specific chemical substance. Unlike common or trade names, a CAS number always refers to the exact same material.

For perfumers, CAS numbers are one of the most reliable ways to identify raw materials and avoid confusion between similar or differently named ingredients.

Why are CAS Numbers important?

Many fragrance materials are sold under different trade names depending on the supplier.

For example, two suppliers may use different product names for the same aroma chemical, while another supplier may use a similar name for an entirely different material.

The CAS number eliminates this ambiguity by providing a universal identifier that is recognized worldwide.

Where can you find a CAS Number?

Most reputable suppliers include the CAS number on:

Product pages
Technical Data Sheets (TDS)
Safety Data Sheets (SDS)
Product labels
Certificates of Analysis (CoA)

If a supplier provides a CAS number, it is usually the most reliable way to verify the identity of a material.

Why does it matter when formulating?

Using the correct material is essential when creating reproducible perfume formulas.

Recording CAS numbers helps you:

Identify materials accurately
Avoid confusion between similar product names
Match materials from different suppliers
Improve consistency between batches
Find the correct safety information and IFRA restrictions

Even experienced perfumers often rely on CAS numbers when comparing materials from multiple manufacturers.

In Scent Inventory

Scent Inventory allows you to store the CAS number for every raw material in your library.

When available, the platform can use the CAS number to automatically retrieve information such as IFRA Category 4 limits, making it easier to formulate accurate and compliant fragrances.