Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Cosmetic Industry “Period of time after opening” Calculation

  • “Period of time after opening” Calculation

    Posted by theo on October 10, 2017 at 6:52 am

    Hello everyone,

    I am new at cosmetic industry and I am trying to find out a method that I can calculate the period of time after opening (PAO). In Europe, the regulation say that one product which is stable for 30 months have to has a PAO mark. I read a lot of opinions, but nobody say an exact method. I read about AFSSAPS method, but I didn’t understand how it works. The EU Regulation say that the PAO must calculated by these parameters: Microbiological Tests, Stability Tests, Packaging, Consumers that is the product for, the usage of product and the ingredients. If anybody more experienced from me can help me, that will be great.

    Thank you for a great forum and website generally. It is very helpfull for me!

    theo replied 6 years, 5 months ago 4 Members · 5 Replies
  • 5 Replies
  • bill_toge

    Member
    October 10, 2017 at 3:06 pm

    you’ve not found an exact method because it is a matter of judgment, and essentially a ‘best guess’ 

    the key factors are the type and design of the packaging, how the product behaves over a long period when the pack is opened (i.e. will it dry out or otherwise degrade), and the microbiological risk (i.e. can the end-user potentially contaminate the product while it’s inside the pack)

  • theo

    Member
    October 12, 2017 at 11:53 am

    Thank you Bill for your response!

  • chemnc

    Member
    October 13, 2017 at 6:07 pm

    Pumps will last longer than jars because there are no fingers to contaminate the product. So far, I haven’t seen anything beyond 18 months for expiration after opening.

  • em88

    Member
    October 19, 2017 at 6:56 am

    Just put the open package in normal stability test and check after 6, 9 and 12 months 

  • theo

    Member
    October 20, 2017 at 5:14 am

    Thank you @em88 and @chemnc for your answers.

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