{"id":9341,"date":"2016-11-08T21:25:19","date_gmt":"2016-11-08T21:25:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/?p=9341"},"modified":"2021-07-20T11:16:12","modified_gmt":"2021-07-20T10:16:12","slug":"liz-earle-recall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/liz-earle-recall\/","title":{"rendered":"When even Phenoxyethanol fails: The Liz Earle Recall"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span>I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard the shocking <a href=\"http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/home-news\/liz-earle-cleanse-polish-hot-cloth-cleanser-recalled-dangerous-bacteria-boots-a7401126.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>news<\/strong><\/a> about the withdrawal of Liz Earle\u2019s cleanser from the market because of high concentrations of <em>Enterobacter\u00a0<\/em>bacteria.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A complete batch of 15,000 tubes is going to be destroyed. The financial and social damage is huge and there have probably been dozens\u00a0of hours of investigations, examinations and discussions to find out the cause of the contamination, to remove it and to decide about how to compensate for this loss. Unfortunately this also occurred right before Christmas when many companies count on some 60-80% of their annual sales.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Experiencing a product re-call due to contamination\u00a0is a nightmare for any formulator and manufacturer and something that nobody wishes on even the worst enemy. But, since it is (at least in this case) better to learn from others\u2019 experience than to experience it personally, we\u2019re trying to analyse the Liz Earle recall\u00a0and try to learn how to avoid it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span>What is Enterobacter<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span><em>Enterobacter<\/em> is a Gram-negative rod shape bacteria and is a facultative anaerobe. This means that it has an aerobic respiration when oxygen is available but can switch to fermentation when when no oxygen is available. It belongs to mesophile microorganisms (with the optimal growth temperature between 25-40 <sup>o<\/sup>C). Some strains of <em>Enterobacter<\/em> are pathogenic and can cause infections, specially in people with a compromised immune system.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In cosmetic products,\u00a0<em>Enterobacter<\/em> has mostly been found in contaminated surfactants and in conditioners containing quaternary ammonium derivatives. <em>Enterobacter<\/em> is found in soil and can attack plant tissue (meaning any herbal extract or plant oil can have a load of <em>Enterobacter<\/em> waiting for suitable growth conditions to explode).<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span>The Liz Earle Cleanser Ingredients List<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>This cleanser\u00a0is no natural product, nor does it claim to be one. When we have\u00a0a look at the ingredients list of this cleanser, we can see\u00a0that it is everything but under-preserved. We&#8217;ve highlighted the preservatives in red bold font in the list below.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">INCI list of ingredients:<\/span> Aqua (water), Caprylic\/capric triglyceride, Theobroma cacao (cocoa) seed butter, Cetearyl alcohol, Cetyl esters, Cera alba (beeswax), Glycerin, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitan stearate, Eucalyptus globulus leaf oil, Humulus lupulus (hops) extract, Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, Anthemis nobilis (chamomile) flower extract, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Phenoxyethanol<\/strong><\/span>, Panthenol, <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Benzoic acid<\/span><\/strong>,<strong> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Ethylhexylglycerin<\/span><\/strong>,<strong> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Dehydroacetic acid<\/span><\/strong>, Sodium hydroxide, Limonene, Citric acid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>So as you can see,\u00a0there are several preservatives in this product (which either accompany\u00a0the extracts or are\u00a0added to the product by the manufacturer). These are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Phenoxyethanol<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Benzoic acid<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Ethylhexylglycerin <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Dehydroacetic acid<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>Phenoxyethanol is one of those notorious but extremely effective preservatives that can be used at a\u00a0low application dosage. It is even tolerated in some natural\/organic certification schemes, but is taboo in most of them. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Phenoxyethanol is\u00a0one of the few preservatives that are\u00a0capable of preserving clay minerals in a water-containing product. Despite (or probably because of) its efficacy, it is shunned by many consumers\u00a0because of its sensitization potential. Consequently, many suppliers who are currently using\u00a0this preservative are in\u00a0the process of swapping it with milder preservatives that offer\u00a0no (or less) sensitization.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span>The Contamination Cause<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>When we look at the\u00a0ingredients listing and we see that the cleanser contains a number\u00a0of different preservatives, it is hard to believe that such a product could be contaminated. Why would phenoxyethanol and co. fail to preserve this\u00a0product? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Let&#8217;s also keep\u00a0in mind that this cleanser\u00a0has been on the market for a while and is sold by an established company that has\u00a0state-of-the-art manufacturing and laboratory equipment, an army of specialists and Good Manufacturing Practice\u00a0compliance. They have certainly produced at least 100 batches of this cleanser\u00a0and the product, process, packaging, raw material and all other factors have been intensively tested during the long process of product development and testing. And to top it all off, this cleanser is sold in the EU\u00a0and has\u00a0therefore certainly be challenge tested before entering the market.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As you can see\u00a0this is definitely a case of Murphy\u2019s law: whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.\u00a0<\/span><span>There is never\u00a0any assurance that something you\u2019re already tried and performed 100 times would perform the 101<sup>st<\/sup> time as well. And this reconfirms our advice to\u00a0test every single batch of your products.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Keeping all that in mind, and knowing that this is a well-tested formulation (and not a first trial batch) the causes of contamination in this Liz Earle recall could be one of three reasons:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>1. A change in one of the raw materials<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>This could be a new batch of one of the raw materials (one of the extracts) that was not tested before adding it to the formulation or water (a failure in the purification system).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Containers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>This seems very doubtful but it is possible that the contamination was in the tubes and they were not tested.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Contamination in the system<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>This is the most probable reason of this contamination when even the preservative system cannot conquer it. A biofilm somewhere in the system could have been contaminated: one of the pipelines, a filling machine, a pumping system. A tiny little biofilm is enough to contaminate (at least) one full batch of a product.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span>Systematic failure<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>The main question is: how can\u00a0a company release a batch without having the test results?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>To be quite honest, I don\u2019t want to be in the shoes of the person\u00a0who released this batch. I know from experience that sometimes the pressure from sales is so high that somebody signs the batch release note and sends the product out before the tests are finished (they may have\u00a0thought: there was nothing wrong with the last 50 batches, why should this one have any issues?)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A couple of years ago, I terminated a very nice and lucrative collaboration with a manufacturer exactly because of this issue. My lab was supposed to provide them with application samples for their raw material and they steadily put pressure on me to send samples to their customers before our stability tests were over. Each time that I emphasized that no single jar would leave my lab without the necessary minimum stability testing, they accused me of not being sure about my competence and not being able to create acceptable products. End of the story, the collaboration was ended.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span>What we learn from this Liz Earle recall?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>I\u2019m sure a company like Liz Earle can easily tolerate the financial and social damages cause by this product recall\u00a0but it would be a huge damage to an artisan manufacturer. To avoid such nightmare make sure you always follow these 9 important steps:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span>Keep in mind that contamination can occur faster than you can blink. There is never a 100% guarantee, even if your challenge test results are perfect. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Test all new batches of raw material, control your water and your containers regularly. Water, plant extracts, hydrosols, clays and plant oils are the most probable sources of contamination.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>GMP, GMP and GMP. Keep track of all your experiments, your batches and your procedure. If (heaven forbid) such a disaster happens in your premises, you must\u00a0identify the source of contamination as soon as possible.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Never ever release a product without having tested it. Never mind the market pressure. Better a late delivery than a contaminated delivery.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Be meticulous with your instruments and equipment. I shudder when I see artisan manufacturers share photos of their make-shift filling and pumping systems. A biofilm can form before you can even imagine it. Dissemble all tubes, hoses, screws, whatever you can dismount aftere every single batch. Wash and disinfect everything thoroughly. Let everything get dried before you start assembling your vessels and machines.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Keep at least one archive sample of the batch (in a disinfected sample bottle) and one single bottle of the final product for your recordings. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Don\u2019t get fanciful with \u201cpreservative-free\u201d claims of some suppliers. They either do not declare the preservative (this is impossible in the EU) or the preservative is hidden in their \u201cparfum\u201d. A preservative isn\u2019t a nasty and unnecessary poisonous chemical. It is there to protect the product, the consumer and your clear conscience and business ethos.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Avoid unpreserved ingredients that have a high potency of contamination: extracts and hydrosols should either be preserved as you purchase them or be originally filled in disinfected containers (5-50 kg). A 100 ml bottle of a hydrosol is a refill and is very probably already contaminated when it reaches you. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Keep to the golden rule when it comes to preservation:\u00a0<\/span><strong>As little as possible and as much as needed.\u00a0<\/strong>Avoid over-preservation and under-preservation at all cost.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span>May all your products remain safe and uncontaminated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Other articles to read on this subject:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/checklist-natural-preservative-skincare\/\">16 Point Checklist: How to choose a Natural Preservative for your Skincare Formulations<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/can-your-cosmetics-kill-you\/\">Can your cosmetics kill you?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/what-can-go-wrong-formulations-ph\/\">What can go wrong if you don&#8217;t control your formulation&#8217;s pH?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/5-reasons-why-your-natural-formulations-need-preserving\/\">5 Reasons Why Your Natural Formulations Need Preserving<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/buying-contaminated-hydrosols\/\">Are you buying contaminated hydrosols?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Want to learn more about natural cosmetic preservatives? Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/natural-preservatives\/\">Everything you wanted to know about natural preservatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Want to learn how to formulate with natural preservatives and implement rigorous cosmetic stability testing in your artisan lab? Enrol today for our <a href=\"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/certificate-in-natural-cosmetic-preservation\/\">Certificate in Natural Cosmetic Preservation<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/certificate-in-cosmetic-stability-testing\/\">Certificate in Cosmetic Stability Testing<\/a>\u00a0to formulate your products with a clear conscience.<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard the shocking news about the withdrawal of Liz Earle\u2019s cleanser from the market because of high concentrations of Enterobacter\u00a0bacteria. A complete batch of 15,000 tubes is going to be destroyed. The financial and social damage is huge and there have probably been dozens\u00a0of hours of investigations, examinations and discussions to find out the cause of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2978,"featured_media":47047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[349],"tags":[95,138,41],"class_list":["post-9341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cosmetic-ingredients","tag-liz-earle-recall","tag-natural-preservative","tag-skincare-formulating"],"cp_meta_data":{"_edit_lock":["1626776044:2984"],"_edit_last":["2984"],"_pilotpress_redirect_location":["-1"],"_thumbnail_id":["47047"],"_item_likes":["8"],"slide_template":["default"],"_single_add_custom_css":[""],"_wpb_vc_js_status":["false"],"_kleo_transparent_menu_color":["white"],"_kleo_title_color":["#"],"_kleo_title_bg":["a:5:{s:3:\"url\";s:0:\"\";s:6:\"repeat\";s:6:\"repeat\";s:4:\"size\";s:7:\"inherit\";s:10:\"attachment\";s:6:\"scroll\";s:8:\"position\";s:8:\"left top\";}"],"_kleo_title_bg_color":["#"],"_kleo_post_layout":["default"],"_kleo_header_layout":["default"],"_kleo_page_menu":["default"],"_kleo_page_menu_secondary":["default"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":["Liz Earle recall"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":["Liz Earle recall"],"_yoast_wpseo_title":["When even Phenoxyethanol fails: The Liz Earle recall"],"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":["What caused the Liz Earle recall of 15,000 cleansers from the market, because of high concentrations of Enterobacter bacteria?"],"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":["67"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["137"],"_sbi_oembed_done_checking":["1"],"classic-editor-remember":["classic-editor"],"saswp_custom_schema_field":[""],"saswp_modify_this_schema_37129":["0"],"saswp_article_speakable_37129":["0"],"sbg_selected_sidebar":["a:1:{i:0;s:1:\"0\";}"],"sbg_selected_sidebar_replacement":["a:1:{i:0;s:1:\"0\";}"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":[""],"rank_math_primary_category":["137"],"rank_math_title":["When even Phenoxyethanol fails: The Liz Earle recall"],"rank_math_description":["What caused the Liz Earle recall of 15,000 cleansers from the market, because of high concentrations of Enterobacter bacteria?"],"rank_math_focus_keyword":["Liz Earle recall"],"rank_math_news_sitemap_robots":["index"],"rank_math_robots":["a:1:{i:0;s:5:\"index\";}"],"rank_math_analytic_object_id":["1271"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2978"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}