Testing and listing disinfectants - instrument and product of quality assurance.

In Germany, the Disinfectants Commission of the Association for Applied Hygiene (VAH) ensures that the user can avail of procedures that meet the stipulated quality requirements. These requirements are based on the tried and tested standard methods of the German Society of Hygiene and Microbiology (DGHM) as well as on European standards. They take account of the different requirements dictated by the various fields of application, reflecting the quality assurance system in a transparent manner. Special emphasis is increasingly placed on retesting the products already available on the market. In multi-center trials the inter- and intralaboratory fluctuations in the test results are ascertained, the quest for suitable standard substances intensified, culture conditions and detection procedures are standardized and the test procedures and potential influence factors analyzed in detail. The aim here is to devise test procedures that will yield a reproducible and reliable result independently of the test location, and meet the requirements of everyday practice. Attention must be paid to, inter alia, the prevailing microbial spectrum in quality and quantity, the prevailing organic and inorganic load as well as material and surface properties. The test procedures are gradually brought into line with the current stock of scientific knowledge, because such a task calls for conscientiousness, tenacity and patience as well as continuous dialog between research, industry and practice. Thanks to these joint efforts, we are increasingly better able to meet the demands made by intelligent and selective prophylactic disinfection.