More Than 1 in 3 Tatoo inks tested in US harbor a potential infection risk

Published July 9, 2024 | Originally published on ScienceAlert Latest, MD Linx

More needs to be done to ensure that tattoo inks and other permanent makeup products are bacteria-free, according to the authors of a new study that found worryingly high numbers of commercial samples with bacteria in them.
Testing found bacteria in about 35 percent of the tattoo inks and permanent makeup sampled in the US. That includes both aerobic bacteria that need oxygen to live, and anaerobic bacteria that don't – meaning they could survive in the dermal layer under the surface of the skin, even without an air supply.
The research was carried out by a team from the National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) and the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), both part of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
"Our findings reveal that unopened and sealed tattoo inks can harbor anaerobic bacteria, known to thrive in low-oxygen environments like the dermal layer of the skin, alongside aerobic bacteria," says microbiologist Seong-Jae Kim from the NCTR.
"This suggests that contaminated tattoo inks could be a source of infection from both types of bacteria."
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