A vast number of Cosmetic Products are now claiming to be ‘Vegan’ either with standalone claims or with approval via a 3rd party. To support these claims both manufacturers and brands are making sure not to test on animals, or to use animal-derived ingredients such as Cochineal dye or lanolin in their formulations.

However, what is frequently overlooked is that the routine regulatory microbiology testing they are carrying out is NOT VEGAN.

Standard Culture Media and Neutraliser used as in cosmetic microbiology can contain:

• Pancreatic Bovine Enzymes
• Milk Derived Proteins
• Animal Peptones
• Mouse Antibodies
• Rabbit Plasma
• Bovine/Equine Foetal Serum

This does not align with the Vegan need to avoid animal-derived ingredients. MSL have responded to this situation by developing a novel and ethical solution. MSL have formulated Vegan alternatives for all the various culture media and neutralisers used in the two main cosmetic tests which are:

• Microbial Limits/USP 61 & 62
• Preservative Efficacy (Challenge) Testing

We’ve replaced ALL animal-derived ingredients with plant-derived/synthetic alternatives and separated our workflows to ensure that our new Vegan Test Methods are truly Vegan.

We call these new methods VeganSure®.

For information on how to make the switch to VeganSure® contact the MSL Cosmetics Team – Alex.Fotheringham@msl.io.