Maple syrup event
Encyclopedia
The maple syrup event was the objective presence of a particular scent in New York City
, and the response to this smell by the residents, various media outlets, and government agencies. Reports of the events are said to have begun in the fall of 2005, and continued sporadically into early 2009. New Yorkers feared the sweet smell was a form a chemical warfare
. The scent was eventually traced to its source, a Frutarom Industries Ltd.
property in northern New Jersey
. The factory processes fenugreek seeds, commonly used in maple syrup
substitutes. This source was traced through a collaborative process between the citizens of New York City, the city's 311 system
, the New York City Office of Emergency Management, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection
, and a working group which gathered and analyzed atmospheric data.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and the response to this smell by the residents, various media outlets, and government agencies. Reports of the events are said to have begun in the fall of 2005, and continued sporadically into early 2009. New Yorkers feared the sweet smell was a form a chemical warfare
Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...
. The scent was eventually traced to its source, a Frutarom Industries Ltd.
Frutarom
Frutarom Industries Ltd. is one of the world's leading flavor and fragrance companies, in 2008 it had sales of over $473 million. The company’s shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, where it is a constitute of the TA-100 Index of leading...
property in northern New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. The factory processes fenugreek seeds, commonly used in maple syrup
Maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
substitutes. This source was traced through a collaborative process between the citizens of New York City, the city's 311 system
3-1-1
The non-emergency telephone number 3-1-1 is a special N-1-1 telephone number in many communities in Canada and the United States that provides quick, easy-to-remember access to non-emergency municipal services or a Citizen Service Center...
, the New York City Office of Emergency Management, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection
New York City Department of Environmental Protection
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection is a City agency of nearly 6,000 employees that manages and conserves the City’s water supply; distributes more than one billion gallons of clean drinking water each day to nine million New Yorkers and collects wastewater through a vast...
, and a working group which gathered and analyzed atmospheric data.