Preservative Challenge Testing

Preservative Challenge Testing is a critical component in establishing the Safety Substantiation of a cosmetic product. We provide Preservative Challenge Testing done by a certified third-party laboratory including USP <51>, USP<61> or ISO 11930 Preservative Challenge Tests.

We also conduct Preservative Challenge Tests in conjuction with Consumer Product Testing that yields more reliable results than a single, static Preservative Challenge Test on unused product.

• A static Preservative Challenge Test is first performed on the unused product to establish the efficacy of the preservation system.
• The product is then given to a Consumer Product Testing panel to use under real-life use conditions for 30 days.
• The remaining unused portion of the product used by the Consumer Product Testing panel is then subjected to a follow-up Preservative Challenge Test.

This is particularly important for products that are packaged in containers that allow or require that the consumer’s hands come into direct contact with the product such as wide-mouth jars or products applied with an applicator that is then placed back into the container until the next use such as mascara. In these cases, a new microbial load is introduced into the product container with each use increasing the possibility of in-use microbial contamination.