The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association (CTFA) has requested public comment on two new microbiology guidelines by March 30, 2007. M-6: A Method of Preservation Testing of Atypical Personal Care Products, and M-7: A Rapid Method for Preservation Testing of Water-Miscible Personal Care Products, are the two guidelines up for discussion.
M-6 states that the current industry practice is an acceptable procedure for determining the preservative efficacy of atypical cosmetic and toiletry formulations such as oils, powders or other formulations that have low water content and/or are not miscible with water. Similarly, M-7 is a procedure to rapidly determine preservative performance in water-miscible personal care products.
M-7, according to the association, should be used to screen products during development to quickly differentiate between preservative systems that may be capable of providing adequate preservation and those that have insufficient antimicrobial activity to protect the product. The rapid method should not, according to association, be the final information on the adequacy of preservation of the final formulation.
Both methods are set to be included in the 2007 update of the CTFA Microbiology Guidelines, which are part of the CTFA Technical Guidelines series. An electronic copy of the draft guidelines is available from the CTFA Public Affairs Department by contacting Jill Marvin at [email protected].
