Professional BS EN 1276 bactericidal cleaners, disinfectants and sanitisers for commercial kitchens, food areas and workplace hygiene, including ready-to-use sprays, concentrates and specialist antimicrobial products.

What does BS EN 1276 mean?

BS EN 1276 is a recognised European standard for assessing the bactericidal activity of chemical disinfectants and antiseptics under specified test conditions.

In food preparation and other hygiene-critical environments, choosing products with appropriate antimicrobial test evidence can form part of a wider cleaning and cross-contamination control programme.

Astral Hygiene supplies a range of professional bactericidal cleaners, sanitisers and disinfectants with documented BS EN 1276 performance. Always follow the individual product instructions for dilution, contact time and correct application.

What exactly is BS EN 1276?

BS EN 1276 is a recognised European standard used to evaluate the bactericidal activity of chemical disinfectants and antiseptics used in food, industrial, domestic and institutional environments.

It is a quantitative suspension test, meaning the product is tested under defined laboratory conditions to determine whether it can achieve the required reduction in specified bacteria at a particular concentration, temperature and contact time.

Products that pass BS EN 1276 must demonstrate the required bactericidal reduction under the conditions in which they were tested. The exact dilution, contact time and test conditions can vary between products, so users should always follow the individual manufacturer's instructions.

For products specifically tested for bactericidal performance on non-porous surfaces, BS EN 13697 is the more directly relevant surface test.

How do I prevent cross contamination?

Effective cross-contamination control requires a combination of good hand hygiene, separation of raw and ready-to-eat foods, effective cleaning and the correct use of disinfectants or sanitisers.

Frequently touched surfaces, food-preparation areas, chopping boards and suitable equipment should be cleaned and disinfected according to an appropriate hygiene schedule.

When using a BS EN 1276 product, always follow the manufacturer's stated dilution and contact time. Some professional products offer rapid bactericidal performance, but contact times vary between formulations and should not be assumed to be the same for every product.

What is the importance of Cleaning as you go?

Cleaning as you go helps prevent dirt, food residues and contamination from accumulating during the working day.

Where a cleaner sanitiser is used, first remove visible contamination and then apply the product according to its instructions. The disinfecting stage must remain in contact with the surface for the manufacturer's specified contact time before wiping or allowing the surface to dry as directed.

The correct concentration is equally important. Concentrated products must be diluted accurately so that the required antimicrobial performance is achieved.

For hygiene-critical areas, check the individual product information for relevant standards such as BS EN 1276 and, where applicable, BS EN 13697.

What BSEN chemicals do I use when washing dishes?

When you are washing dishes you are removing the soil, however it is important to note that you’re not actually killing the bacteria when you wash in this way. To kill the bacteria need to wash the services at a high temperature and maintain that temperature for some time - thermal disinfection. The trouble is washing dishes at a high temperature for a prolonged period of time is it really going to work with you washing with your hands. This is why a commercial dishwasher is the most effective in sanitising your dishes. All environmental health officers and the food Standards agency would advocate that a commercial dishwasher is the best way to sanitise your dishes. Where the dishwasher is unavailable or impractical there is an alternative way.

To obtain the correct level of disinfection you must use a BS EN accredited product to sanitise your dishes. There is a distinction between washing your dishes and sanitising your dishes. We’ll tackle washing your dishes first. Many of us know this is done through using a simple detergent. The sanitisation process is a little more tricky and you must be accurate in both the amount of water that you put in your sink (you must know how many litres it holds) versus the amount of chemical that is introduced into that liquid.

There is a great deal of confusion around which BSEN (British Standards European Norm) to use when sanitising dishes, and this isn't being helped with the confusion around which BSEN tests for what. Let me explain....... 

What is the difference between BS EN 1276 and BS EN 13697?

There can be confusion between different disinfectant test standards because they assess antimicrobial performance using different laboratory methods.

BS EN 1276 is a quantitative suspension test used to assess the bactericidal activity of chemical disinfectants and antiseptics under defined conditions.

BS EN 13697 is a quantitative non-porous surface test designed to assess bactericidal, yeasticidal and/or fungicidal activity on non-porous surfaces without mechanical action.

For professional cleaning and food hygiene applications, always check the exact standards stated on the product technical information together with the required dilution, contact time and application method.

A product should only be described as passing a particular BS EN standard where its manufacturer or supporting test documentation confirms that performance.

In water, the test is entirely different, because the environment in which the test is being conducted is not a hard surface. BSEN 1040 is the test that must be passed to demonstate chemical effectiveness in water. This European Standard specifies a test method and the minimum requirements for basic bactericidal activity of chemical disinfectant and antiseptic products that form a homogeneous, physically stable preparation when diluted with water. So this means, any bactericidal detergent that is claiming to be tested against of even passing BSEN 1276, this product is not fit for it's intended purpose - for sanitising dishes, ergo BSEN 1276 is only effective on hard surfaces, and not proven to kill bacteria when heavily diluted in water. 

The bactericidal detergent which we recommend here at Astral Has a dilution rate of one part chemical to 100 parts water and is BSEN 1040. So to illustrate that a bit more clearly that would be in a 20 litre sink you would put 200ml of chemical. To ensure you have the correct delusion to kill 99.999% of bacteria. You must also follow the remainder of the instructions on the back of the bottle which detail submerging your dishes in the water for five minutes, pulling them out of the solution and putting them on the newly sanitised draining board to dry. Never wiping them with a tea towel and putting them away on a sanitised surface.

Can I use bleach to clean a chopping board?

In essence the answer to this question is it a definite no. Bleach is a Caustic non-food safe chemical, which will taint your food and potentially leave behind a dangerous residue on the surfaces that you prepare food for your customers.

I only have a small cafe, are these regulations pertinent to me?

Any food handling operative must comply with the guidance on the Food Standards Agency website and they all must use appropriate chemicals to reduce the contamination of E Coli in the food that they serve to their customers.

Are you ready for Hygiene 2.0?

Businesses, individuals; everyone has been through such a difficult and harrowing time over the last 12 months…. so now is the time to devise a plan to counter the effects of new virus outbreaks to allow us to manage it whilst still allowing businesses to function.

In 2007, statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb defined “Black Swan” as an event that “is an outlier,” as it lies outside the realm of regular expectations. Black Swans by that definition are mostly unforeseen, rare, and can be created by geo-political, economic, or from other unexpected events.

To distinguish this COVID 19 event from the other epidemics we have endured recently would make it a Black Swan, but COVID 19 was not a Black Swan, because a Black Swan is an unpredictable  event, but with the seasonal flu, norovirus and colds as frequently present as they are, and our seasoned, relevant and recent experience with pandemics, we should have seen this coming.

We have a society that makes it easy for infectious diseases to spread, we live in close contact, touch shared surfaces and share the same spaces and air. Have you noticed that this year you haven’t had a cold or flu? Most years either myself or my husband get a nasty cold and then we ‘share’ it with the rest of the family, but this year that hasn’t happened.  This is due to increased hygiene procedures that everyone has put in place. When we go to a shared space, we sanitise;  we sanitise everything we touch, shopping trolleys etc and time with other people has been very limited.

The fact that everywhere had to go in to full lockdown across the UK; not once but twice, is a real indication that our hygiene strategy just wasn’t working.  Safe work places need to be an absolute necessity. I blogged a couple of weeks ago about returning to work, and not only shared kitchens need to be managed appropriately, but also work stations, chairs, bathrooms etc.  Going to work, should be safe, and that can only be done through managing hygiene appropriately.

You can only manage hygiene by killing bacteria and virus’ or hand washing, and I blogged last week about making sure that your products carry the appropriate certifications such as BSEN 1276 and BSEN 14476.  I’ve linked our website sections here so that you can see the products we carry which will help you to manage your hygiene appropriately.  It is now more important than ever that everyone is managing their hygiene, and it has become business critical to a lot of businesses that we get through this pandemic without having to go in to lockdown again.   Using appropriately tested, safe and effective products, is where to begin.

As I inferred previously, infection control has to change forever.  Infection control shouldn’t just be something we do in hospitals, it needs to become a way of life.  COVID has permeated everyone’s lives in some way or another, and some people have been altered forever, so we must take a new view on hygiene, and as a population take both individual and collective responsibility for the new hygiene strategy.

We must design our lives and our life styles with hygiene in mind.  Urban design in the 20^th Century was shaped by Cholera and War, so is it a sensible conclusion to remark that the 21^st Century will be designed around Coronavirus and Climate? More space, wider doors, more green space, more cycling and walking, staggered commutes and start times (Munter and Ackerly) will be the way in which the 21^st Century will be designed?

Will the more space approach be the ‘new’ strategy to avoidance of a new pandemic?  Will this be the end of open plan offices, or will a more rigorous approach to cleaning and sanitisation be the answer?

We have been talking about new ways to manage hygiene in the home for while, and the International Forum on Home Hygiene discussed containing the burden of infectious diseases being everyone’s responsibility in 2018 – before this pandemic broke.

This new strategy needs to be created by policy makers, and held up nationally and internationally as a way forward by all countries.  Sadly, as we have seen throughout this years pandemic, it was the divergence of approaches across the world which has lead to the spread of this virus, and the mismanagement of a united approach.

Businesses are looking for more expertise than ever before in terms of advice and guidance. Getting the right advice, specifically tailored to your unique situation or area is key in terms of making your own hygiene strategy.  Making businesses safe for employees to come back rests firmly on employers, and it remains your responsibility to keep your team safe.  Customer safety is also the responsibility of businesses, so in terms of burden that is a lot! Get the right advice, give us a call at Astral, our advice and guidance is free, so please use it!