FDA to Host Cosmetic Microbiological Safety Public Meeting

On Wednesday, November 30, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration will host a Cosmetic Microbiological Safety Public Meeting in Washington, DC.

The FDA made the following announcement on their website.
“Public Meeting: Cosmetic Microbiological Safety Public Meeting
November 30, 2011  
9:00 a.m. - 5: 30 p.m.
L'Enfant Plaza Hotel 
480 L'Enfant Plaza S.W.
Washington, DC 20024-2253

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a Public Meeting on Cosmetic Microbiological Safety Issues.  The purpose of the Meeting is to provide stakeholders an opportunity to present information regarding cosmetic  microbiological safety and to suggest areas for the possible development of FDA guidance documents.  FDA is seeking information regarding microbiological testing of cosmetics; types of preservative systems and how to test their efficacy; the identity and prevalence of microorganisms, including antibiotic-resistant strains, that pose specific health risks in finished products; routes of exposure to microorganisms and the corresponding infective doses; product and packaging characteristics that affect microbial growth and risk of infection; particular subpopulations that may be at greater risk of infection when using different cosmetic products; the occurrence of adverse events associated with microbial contamination of cosmetics; and any other issues relevant to the microbiological safety of cosmetics.

Public  Meeting  attendees are encouraged to register on-line or contact:  Courtney Treece, Planning Professionals, Ltd., 1210 W. McDermott, Suite 111, Allen, TX 75013, phone:  704-258-4983, fax: 469-854-6992, e-mail: ctreece@planningprofessionals.com.

For general questions about the Meeting, to request an opportunity to make Oral Comments, or to request special accommodations due to a Disability, contact: Juanita Yates, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration,  240-402-1731, e-mail: juanita.yates@fda.hhs.gov.

Docket No. FDA-2011-N-0770
Federal Register Notice of the Meeting 
Registration Online
Please note the following important  dates:
November 10, 2011:  Closing date for Request to Make Oral Presentation
November 21, 2011:  Closing date for: 

• Advance Registration
• Requesting special accommodations due to a Disability, and
• Providing a brief description of an oral presentation and any written material for presentation
• January 30, 2012: Closing date to Submit either electronic or written comments to FDA's Division of Dockets Management”

Source: FDA, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Donna Maria Coles Johnson of the Indie Beauty Network raised an excellent concern this week in an article written for Small Biz Trends. 
“As you might imagine, the nation’s largest cosmetics manufacturers, representing billions of dollars in annual sales, will be present at the meeting with their attorneys, lobbyists, research scientists, cosmetics chemists and other stakeholders.

I also expect representatives of special interest groups, including the Environmental Working Group and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, both of which support federal legislation to overhaul state and federal cosmetics legislation, to be present and possibly offer comments in support of their positions on the pending legislation.

The people who make oral comments live at the meeting will share information of critical importance to all cosmetics manufacturers, yet unless my members attend in person, they will not be able to see and hear what others say, nor will they have an opportunity to request to be heard in person.”

What Donna Maria has discovered is that the meeting is not going to be live streamed and that a transcript will be made public sometime after the meeting.  She mentions that the FDA has a history of live streaming their meetings.  Donna Maria goes on to say, “It is my firm belief that a federal government public meeting is not truly “public” unless everyone with a stake in the outcome has a meaningful opportunity to attend and participate. Today’s technology makes this an easy task, yet so far, no such opportunity is provided here.”

I agree with Donna Maria, public means public! Since the meetings are taking place at the L’Enfant Hotel and they claim to have state of the art audio visual equipment and personal, I cannot see the reason for not publically broadcasting a live stream as the meeting takes place.

The deadline to register to be heard has passed, but the deadline for advanced registration is still open.  If you are local or can make a trip out there to attend and report back to our industry there is still time to register.  Maybe we could set up our own version of live stream twitter feed of the event. 

What are your thoughts on this “public” meeting?