Chocolate Scent Ban
City’s chocolate scent to disappear
November 25, 2005
BY MICHAEL TARM
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?For decades, commuters and tourists have delighted in the mouthwatering smells wafting over the city from the Blommer Chocolate Co. factory.
? Now, that aroma is about to disappear, courtesy of federal regulators.
? The family-run company, which makes chocolate liquor and cocoa butter among other products, was cited by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for violating clean-air regulations and is now installing equipment that will reduce its emissions — and stop the smell.
? ”It’ll start to go away as we put pollution abatement equipment in place,” Vice President Rick Blommer said.
? The demise of the rich smell spilling from the cocoa bean processing plant will be a bitter loss for Chicago, said odor researcher Alan Hirsch, head of the Chicago-based Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation.
? ”Chocolate smells put people in a relaxed state,” Hirsch said. ”It’s been shown bad odors increase aggression; pleasant ones make people more docile. So you could say the chocolate smell is a real service to Chicago.”
? Within smelling range of the 66-year-old factory, it’s nearly impossible to find anyone who doesn’t rave about the rich, brownie-like aroma.
? ”I love it,” said Maria Negron, 48, as she passed by the factory on her way home from work. ”Who wouldn’t like the smell of chocolate?”
? At least one person in Chicago apparently doesn’t.
? The EPA said its recent inspection and citation stemmed from a complaint about the plant’s smell and emissions.
? Inhaling the plant’s emissions in high concentrations can harm children, the elderly and people with heart and lung diseases, the EPA said.
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