Releasing contaminated product poses a greater risk to consumer safety and your brand than ever before. Since cosmetics are FDA-regulated, agencies are beginning to hold manufacturers accountable for the safety and quality of their products, just as they do in the pharmaceutical industry. With legislative changes proposed that would increase regulatory oversight, cosmetic manufacturers must be concerned about the safety of personal care product ingredients, inspection of facilities and records, and developing good manufacturing practices.

For years, the world’s leading consumer care and cosmetic manufacturers have been using a “clean-by-design” process, meeting the demands of consumer trends, ultra-short production cycles, and brand protection. When production schedules are so tight that products are manufactured and delivered to a store shelf within the same day there is no room for error. And while conventional microbial limits testing is a tried and trusted method, it has its limitations.

Environmental monitoring is a fundamental aspect of cGMP compliance and is a proven strategy for contamination risk mitigation for cosmetic manufacturers. Accurate identification of environmental isolates plays an important role in this strategy because it helps record the routine flora of the facility and allows the quality system managers to detect and analyze any deviations from the norm.

When you have confidence in your ID results, you can gain a better understanding of the big picture and the ability to aggregate and trend EM data. But collecting and managing this data can be difficult and time consuming, which is why having the right tool to automate these processes can lead to significant time (and cost) savings.

Learn how Charles River can help you meet the demands of a changing regulatory environment at www.criver.com/cosmetics