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04.09.2018 - Cosmetics

Verification of the effectiveness of the neutralizing agent in microbiological examinations of cosmetics

The ISO 11930, as well as other standards like ISO 21149, describe procedures and media for conducting microbiological tests. The antimicrobial active ingredients in cosmetics must be neutralized during testing so they no longer affect the test results. The most important step in neutralizing antimicrobial ingredients is diluting the product with a suitable diluent. Microbiological tests without this step can give false results (no growth on the medium despite microorganisms being present in the product).

To prove that the dilution is suitable, the standards require verification of the effectiveness of the neutralizing agent (= suitability test). For this purpose, the products to be tested are contaminated with defined microorganism suspensions. It is then checked to what extent the applied microbial count method is suitable for recovering the number of microorganisms introduced into the product. A check on the effectiveness of the neutralizing agent ensures that microorganisms present in the sample can be reliably detected using the chosen testing methodology. If the suitability of the method cannot be proven, the test must be adjusted for the respective formulation. Such suitability tests have been established for pharmaceuticals for several years and are routinely conducted.

The BAV Institute is one of the largest and most modern microbiological contract laboratories in Germany. Due to the high routine in cosmetic testing, there are no waiting times for preservative efficacy tests.

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