Objective To investigate the contamination of bacteria in cosmetics and their potential hazards.

Methods The microbiological indexes were tested according to the microbiological testing methods in the fourth part of the "Hygienic Standard for Cosmetics"(2007), and the isolated strains were identified by an automatic system Vitek2.

Results The qualified rate of 691 cosmetics was 99.13%, the qualified rate for aerobic bacteria counts was 99.42%, and the qualified rate for yeasts and molds was 100%. Fecal coliform bacteria was detected in one sample, pseudomonas aeruginosa was detected in one sample, and no staphylococcus aureus was detected in all samples. The distribution of bacteria species was mainly pseudomonas, escherichia, pantoea spp, aeromonas and staphylococcus. Most of them were conditional pathogens, which might do harm to the health of consumers.

Conclusions The exceeding standard rate for microbiology was low in these 691 cosmetics, but some pathogens and conditional pathogenic bacteria were detected. The issue on the health and safety of cosmetics could not be ignored.