FDA 2014 survey of eye area cosmetics for microbiological safety
In an attempt to assess cosmetics containing 'nontraditional' preservatives, 93 eye area cosmetic products were selected based on labelled or marketed claims that these products were 'green' 'natural' 'paraben free' 'preservative free' or contained nontraditional preservatives (e.g. botanical extracts) Products were analysed for water activity, pH and microbiological content, which included enumeration of aerobic micro organisms, detection of microbial growth after a 7 day enrichment and identification of microbial isolates. The survey found that 60% (56/93) of the eye area cosmetics were free of microbiological growth under test conditions, 32% (30/93) showed the presence of micro organisms at low levels <100 CFU per ml or g) and 8% (7/93) showed microbiological growth at higher levels 100 CFU per ml or g) Gram positive bacteria such as Bacillus and Staphylococcus were the dominant genera identified in these cosmetic products, whereas Gram negative species were relatively uncommon. The survey found a positive association between lower water activity cosmetics and the presence of micro organisms in these products. Similarly, colour cosmetics were more likely to contain micro organisms than noncolour cosmetics. The most represented micro organisms in the survey were from genus Bacillus, suggesting that the natural raw materials are the likely source of observed microbial loads.
Letters in applied microbiology