Swissatest Hygiene Label
Swissatest Hygiene Label – Our contribution to good, safe and sustainable products
Swissatest offers a hygiene label for specific programs or processes as an award for good or very good hygiene performance in household appliances. The label is awarded when a representative number of appliances hwas tested and the requirements were met. The tests are carried out in the laboratory at Swissatest. The test methods are based on international standards such as IEC TS 63429 and IEC dTS 63331. Swissatest has expanded the test methods to include additional test bacteria and viruses in order to be able to prove the effectiveness against bacteria, fungi and viruses with the hygiene label. The hygiene label offers offers a quality feature for the consumer a quality feature and the assurance that the program awarded the Swissatest hygiene label has a good or very good hygiene performance.
Test procedure
Biomonitors are used to check the hygiene performance of specific programs or processes in washing machines, tumble dryers or dishwashers. These Biomonitors are textile carriers or stainless steel carriers contaminated with bacteria, fungi or viruses. These biomonitors represent microbial contamination on the laundry or dishes. After testing a washing, drying or rinsing process, the surviving test germs on the biomonitors are recovered and the microbial reduction of the specific program is calculated. The microbial reduction is indicated in log10 levels or percentages.
Basis and significance
To receive the award, the tested programs must meet the requirements in the table below. The requirements were defined by Swissatest, are based on international standards and represent a good to very good hygiene effect for the household sector.
| Household cleaning processes* | Reduction of bacteria | Reduction of yeasts | Reduction of viruses (bacteriophages) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washing machine process / program | Bacteria removal >= 5 log10-steps | Yeast/fungi removal >= 5 log10-steps | Virus removal >= 5 log10-steps |
| Tumble-drying process / program | Bacteria removal >= 5 log10-steps | Yeast/fungi removal >= 5 log10-steps | Virus removal >= 5 log10-steps |
| Dishwashing process / program | Bacteria removal >= 5 log10-steps | Yeast/fungi removal >= 5 log10-steps | Virus removal >= 5 log10-steps |
* A direct link to infection prevention cannot be made. Many other factors play a role in the transmission of pathogens. The washing process can be a building block for good hygiene practice.
We help further
We are happy to advise and support customers personally in this complex topic and accompany them through the relevant test procedures until they are awarded the Swissatest hygiene label.
If required, we can also certify other appliances or develop individual labels together with our customers. Interested?
The Swissatest standardization work:
Our contribution to good, safe and sustainable products.
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How we sustainably improve devices, products and processes through our work.