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EN 1276 Test
Quantitative suspension test for the evaluation of bactericidal activity of disinfectants or antiseptics
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Quantitative suspension test for the evaluation of bactericidal activity of chemical disinfectants and antiseptics used in food, industrial, domestic and institutional areas
Disinfectants and antiseptics are primarily used to kill harmful microorganisms or inhibit their growth. However, not all the detergents hold the same efficacy against microorganisms, especially resistant bacterial strains.
EN 1276 test is a quantitative suspension test to evaluate the efficacy of chemical disinfectant and antiseptic formulations against a broad range of bacteria. This test method is only applicable for disinfectant formulations used in food, industrial, domestic and institutional areas. Exceptions with this test method are that it is not applicable for areas where disinfectant is medically indicated, on living tissues, and viral strains.
Bactericidal activity of chemical disinfectants shall not be confused with virucidal activity. For accessing both the activities, different test methods are available. As already explained above, EN 1276 is used to check bactericidal activity, whereas EN 14476 test is performed to determine the virucidal activity of chemical disinfectants and antiseptics.
EN 1276 Test Conditions
- Test temperature – In between 4 °C to 60 °C
- Contact time – In between 1 min to 60 min
- Interfering substance – It is added in a test for evaluating the efficacy of the test material against other dirty or clean conditions that coexist with microbes in natural environments. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) is used as an interfering substance. (Clean Condition: 0.3g/l and Dirty condition: 3g/l of Bovine Serum Albumin).
- Log reduction – This term defines the relative number of living microbes that are eliminated by disinfection. For a product to pass EN 1276, it must have the potential to achieve 5-log reduction against the test microorganisms. 5 log reduction means the product sample is able to kill 99.999 % of microbes.
Procedure for EN 1276 Test Method
- A sample of the product is added to a test suspension of bacteria in a solution of an interfering substance.
- This test suspension is kept for incubation under conditions (temperature and time) specified by the manufacturer.
- At the end of contact time, an aliquot is taken and is immediately added to the neutralizing solution to suppress its bactericidal activity.
- Following a 5-minute neutralization period, 1 ml of the test mixture is plated onto Tryptone Soya Agar to detect surviving test bacteria.
- Plates are incubated for 20 – 24 hrs and the reduction in CFU (colony forming units) is calculated.
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FAQs
EN 1276 is a quantitative suspension test for the evaluation of bactericidal activity of disinfectants or antiseptics.
EN 1276 test is applicable for chemical disinfectant and antiseptic products such as handrubs and handwashes that have different applications in industrial, institutional areas, etc.
The EN 1276 test method typically needs 4-5 days to complete.
EN 1276 can be tested against different strains of bacteria. Such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterococcus hirae, Escherichia coli K12, Enterococcus faecium, Salmonella typhimuriun, Lactobacillus brevis, Enterobacter cloacae. Additional strains can be added on request.
