A malodour-counteracting composition comprising (i) a salt of general formula (I) €ƒ€ƒ€ƒ€ƒ€ƒ€ƒ€ƒ€ƒ R 1 R 2 R 3 R 4 N + X - €ƒ€ƒ€ƒ€ƒ€ƒ(I) wherein R 1 ,R 2 , R 3 , R 4 are independently selected from C 1-4 alkyl, or R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 may together constitute a nitrogen-containing cyclic system in which the nitrogen is part of a pyridinium or an imidazolinium ring and X- is a counterion characterised by its protonated form having an acidity constant (pKa) lying between 1 and 6 and (ii) an alpha, beta-unsaturated carbonyl compound of the general formula €ƒ€ƒ€ƒ€ƒ€ƒ€ƒ€ƒ€ƒ R 5 R 6 C=CR 7 C(=O)YR 8 €ƒ€ƒ€ƒ€ƒ€ƒ(II) in which R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 and Y are selected such that (a) R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 are independently selected from hydrogen and C 1-10 hydrocarbyl residues which may be saturated, unsaturated, aromatic, cyclic, branched or unbranched, and which are optionally substituted, and Y is a covalent bond or (b) at least one of R 5 and R 6 is an ester group, the other and R 7 are selected as described in (a) and Y is oxygen, such that the compound is a di-ester or tri-ester. The composition may be incorporated into consumer products and is able to remove malodours from the air or from surfaces.
