Presentation (English)

The Association was founded in Berlin in 1906. At present, 58 members are affiliated to the DVAI, the majority of which has its production site in Germany. With reference to Germany the organization degree is more than 95 %.

The DVAI regards itself as the German professional association of the flavours industry. The DVAI serves also companies manufacturing and marketing functional ingredients for foodstuffs.

The DVAI's member service includes the continuous distribution of general circulars with bibliographical references, internal circulars on important subjects and "Aroma Flash", a compact information letter in German and English. Furthermore "REACH Express" and "REACH aktuell" inform about the latest developments of the new chemicals legislation. Furthermore there is the general daily service with its manifold questions and problems concerning foodstuff legislation or other regulations which are relevant for the industry.

Besides providing member service the DVAI has set itself other important tasks such as the representation of its members' interests, especially vis-à-vis national and international institutions (German Ministry for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture, EU Commission, EP) and continuous public relations.

Members have the possibility to take an active part in the DVAI's activities in collaborating on the Flavours Working Group which normally meets thrice a year. Since 2007 there also exists a Working Group Communication which gives strategic recommendations on communication with third parties.

Among the very important tasks there are at present comments regarding the new EC Flavouring Regulation and the development of the EC Regulation on Flavouring Substances. The new EC Flavouring Regulation is to be understood as a framework regulation. On the basis of the EC Regulation on Flavouring Substances a positive list for all flavouring substances used will be set up by the end 2010.

The association's legal seat is at Meckenheim, near Bonn. In mid-2002 the association opened a liaison office in Brussels to mark its permanent presence at the seat of the EU institutions. In the association's view European evolution is of increasing importance. The European market has virtually become a domestic market. The DVAI must take this evolution into account. Furthermore contacts especially with German EP Members and the EU Commission are to be cultivated. The association's presence in Brussels also promotes the collaboration with other associations there.

The DVAI's offices also represent the "Deutscher Verband der Riechstoff-Hersteller e. V." (DVRH). The offices have a staff of three. The DVAI's annual budget is exclusively financed through membership fees proportional to the members' financial potential.

The DVAI's chairman is Heinrich Schaper (Symrise).

The most important customers of the flavours industry are the foodstuffs industry and the foodstuffs trade, but also the pharmaceutics industry and feedstuffs producers. One must not emphasize that the good collaboration with the German Federation on Food Law and Food Science (BLL, Bonn) and the Federation of German Food and Drink Industries (BVE, Bonn) and its members is of imminent importance. The DVAI also cooperates closely with the European Flavour and Fragrance Association (EFFA) and the International Flavor Association (IOFI). The two associations represent the interests of their national members on European and international level in Brussels.

As a national association the DVAI complies with EFFA's Code of Practice and IOFI's Guidelines and Regulations, a world-wide autoregulation which all EFFA and IOFI members and their associated flavours producers observe. This is an important confidence factor for the customer.

Contact:

Managing Director and Member of the Board
RA Sven Ballschmiede

Scientific Director
Dr. oec. troph. Svenja Behrens

Executive Secretary/ Assistant
Brigitte Bong

last update: 01.07.2009