Evaluation of Health Risks Caused by Microorganisms in Cosmetic Products

Microbial contamination of cosmetic products may under certain conditions lead to a health risk of the consumer. Such health hazards obviously appear very rarely if the consumers are in good health and consequently there are no reports of such cases. However, due to the pathogenic character of some microorganisms found as contaminants in cosmetic products, health hazards cannot be excluded and have also been demonstrated in predisposed users. Therefore, microbiologically safe products must guarantee not to cause a health risk for the user. The requirement for sufficiently safe microbial counts can only be fulfilled through a suitable formulation providing an efficient preservation, through a safe manufacturing process and the application of adequate control measures. These targets require all personnel to act responsibly in each process area involved. Respective effective procedures and measures demand a quality management system (based on MQM), which also ensures the qualified performance of microbiological activities including professionally made decisions and risk assessments.