ASTM International, formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), a globally recognised leader in the development and delivery of international voluntary consensus standards, has set new standard tests for decontamination abilities of disinfectant towelettes.

The new standard details the procedures for testing pre-wetted towelettes with a mechanised device called the wiperator. Manufacturers would use the standard for assessing the ability of pre-wetted towelettes to remove and transfer bacterial contamination on hard, non-porous environmental surfaces using the wiperator.

According to ASTM member Syed Sattar, and his collaborators high-touch surfaces are commonly wiped with disinfectant-presoaked towelettes to reduce the spread of infectious agents. Despite this, premarket assessment of such wipes often is not applicable to all situations in which the wipes might be used. In addition, current methods for testing towelettes are often limited to vegetative bacteria, not other pathogen types that can be spread via such surfaces.

The new method addresses these concerns, with precise controls for the length of wiping action and pressure with which the wipe contacts the surface during pathogen removal and transfer; it can also be readily adapted to work with other classes of pathogens, ASTM said in a press release.

Sattar, a professor emeritus of microbiology at the University of Ottawa in Ontario, Canada said, “The standard is designed to generate test data closely simulating the actual use of disinfectant-presoaked towelettes so that label claims of products are as relevant as possible for consumers.” (GK)