COSMETICS BUSINESS LIVE
W
ith a complex set of consumer, regulatory and production demands, assessing
product quality and safety can seem daunting for many brands and manufacturers of cosmetic and personal care products.
Microbial contamination issues can and do pose risks to human health, as well as to businesses by damaging brand reputation and incurring financial losses caused by reworking, spoilage, destruction and recall of product. Microbiological testing is a key aspect of cosmetic product safety and a requirement of the Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009.
COMMON CAUSES OF CONTAMINATION One of the biggest sources of contamination can be traced back to water. Companies should take steps to avoid or resolve such problems early, such as testing the water regularly, to avoid product recalls and/or the production line being shut down completely. Companies should think not just about the production line itself but also about storage and transportation, as this can be another route to contamination. For example, making sure that the caps are not left off IBCs (intermediate bulk containers) to prevent any pollutants from entering. Cleaning protocols for storage and transport are essential, but it’s the drying process which can cause problems. Systems must be fully dry so that harmful bacteria cannot grow.
SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS Sustainability is a hot topic in all industries but no more so than in the beauty sector. Today, refill stations are becoming increasingly popular. For the first time, the filling line finishes in the store and not the factory. This has safety implications, especially for aqueous products, which are generally higher risk. Are the products stored correctly? Are the staff fully trained on how to keep the station clean? If not, bacterial growth can occur. As part of a long-term risk assessment, MSL can provide a ‘secret swabber’ (as opposed to a secret shopper) service.
In a similar vein, condensed products, where water is added by the consumer, are also growing in popularity. Brands must consider whether the consumer will dilute to the correct amount – so in challenge testing, MSL will test to
cosmeticsbusiness.com
MSL SOLUTION PROVIDERS
Microbiological considerations for progressive cosmetics Speaker Ben Elmadi
Ben Elmadi looked at microbiological testing in light of trends for refills and vegan cosmetics
replaces all animal-derived ingredients with plant-based or synthetic alternatives, such as papaya-derived enzymes, soya bean and plant peptones. Following the success of the
an extra 10% of the prescribed amount to ensure that the product can tolerate this.
VEGAN TESTING
The new stage of the vegan trend is all about microbiological testing. All cosmetics and personal care products placed in the UK or EU must undergo the Preservative Efficacy or Challenge Test (ISO 11930). Historically, for brands and manufacturers of vegan cosmetics, assuring the microbiological safety of products, without compromising their vegan ethics, has posed a challenge, since the majority of standard culture media and neutralisers used in the testing are derived from animal by-products. However, in 2018, MSL developed
VeganSure. The first vegan test suite to market – and the first to be registered with the Vegan Society’s Vegan Trademark – this innovative solution
VeganSure testing service, MSL can now supply vegan dehydrated culture media (DCM) to companies around the world that have in-house microbiological testing laboratories. All VeganSure DCM products are validated against traditional media to ensure quality of results and meet the requirements of the UK and EU Cosmetics Regulations. Additionally, the specific DCM products suitable for all cosmetic microbiological testing are registered with the Vegan Society’s Trademark. So, if companies use them, they can claim the VeganSure stamp of approval, without having to be physically audited by the Vegan Society. Brands that have undergone
VeganSure testing, or that have used VeganSure DCM, can display the VeganSure logo on their products to show that it is a 100% animal-free formulation from development through to microbiological testing. As end- consumers become savvier, MSL’s VeganSure service enables brands to futureproof their products
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