Microbial contamination of tattoo and permanent makeup inks marketed in the US: a follow-up study.

In a 2018 survey, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identified microbial contamination in 42 (49%) of 85 unopened tattoo and permanent makeup (PMU) inks purchased from 13 manufacturers in the US between November 2015 and April 2016. To confirm the results of our previous survey, we evaluated the level of microbial contamination in an additional 27 samples from 10 manufacturers from September 2017 to December 2017, including 21 unopened tattoo and PMU inks which were selected based on our previous survey results and 6 ink diluents that were not previously analysed. Aerobic plate count and enrichment culture methods from the FDA's Bacteriological Analytical Manual revealed 11 (52%) out of 21 inks, from six manufacturers, were contaminated with micro-organisms, with contamination levels up to 3·6 × 108  CFU per gram, consistent with our previous survey results. We identified 25 bacterial strains belonging to nine genera and 19 species. Strains of Bacillus sp. (11 strains, 44%) were dominant, followed by Paenibacillus sp. (5 strains, 20%). Clinically relevant strains, such as Kocuria rhizophila and Oligella ureolytica, were also identified, as similar to the findings in our previous survey. No microbial contamination was detected in any of the six ink diluents.

Factors of detection of Bacillus cereus strains in eye cream.

Bacillus cereus has been associated with clinical infections and is also the cause of post-traumatic endophthalmitis as well as endogenous eye infections, which can result in blindness. Cosmetics, although preserved, can be contaminated during manufacture or use and thus cause serious health issues. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the detection factors of Bacillus in eye cream preserved with parabens, including the non-ionic surfactants used as neutralizers such as Tween 80, a blend of Tween 60 and Span 80, Tween 20 and selective media. METHODS: Eye-cream samples were first mixed with neutralizers and individually inoculated with B. cereus strains, B. mycoides, B. subtilis or B. thuringiensis at a final concentration of 5 log CFU per g. The inoculated samples with and without neutralizers were analysed after 30 min and during 84-day storage at room temperature. Presumptive colonies of Bacillus were enumerated on the varieties of Bacillus agar by spiral-plating techniques and most probable number (MPN) method. RESULTS: The recovery counts of all Bacillus strains were between 4.10 and 4.58 log CFU per g in samples with Tween 80 and from 3.62 to 4.53 CFU per g in samples with TS after 30 min. Tween 20 was the least effective neutralizer. The challenged organisms, in samples without neutralizer, B. subtilis ATCC 15563 and B. cereus 4227A were detected at 1.83 and 1.49 log CFU per g after 30 min, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study showed that Tween 80 was the best neutralizer for reducing the antimicrobial effect of parabens. BACARA® and R&F plating media showed typical reaction of Bacillus cereus strains.