What is BS EN 12353 about?
BS EN 12353 specifies methods for keeping test organisms used and defined in European Standards for the determination of bactericidal (incl. Legionella pneumophila), mycobactericidal, sporicidal, fungicidal and virucidal (incl. bacteriophages) activity of chemical disinfectants and antiseptics drawn up by CEN/TC 216. These methods for keeping test organisms can only be carried out in connection with at least one of those standards where a reference to this document is established.
Who is BS EN 12353 for?
BS EN 12353 on preservation of test organisms is useful for
- Manufacturers of chemical disinfectants and antiseptics
- Biotechnology laboratories
- Microorganism producers
Why should you use BS EN 12353?
Microorganisms are like cell factories in biotechnological applications and various industries. They are considered as model organisms for the study of various biological processes. The preservation of microorganisms plays a key role in ensuring reproducible results and continuity in research.
Preservation is important to keep microorganisms in a dormant state, free from contamination and genetic changes, until ready to be brought back to life later.
BS EN 12353 provides standardized tests for the determination of bactericidal (incl. Legionella pneumophila), mycobactericidal, sporicidal, fungicidal and virucidal (incl. bacteriophages) activity of chemical disinfectants and antiseptics necessitate the use of test organisms whose purity and identity have been verified and whose biological behaviour remains stable.
Therefore, it is essential to specify the storage requirements. This document aims to describe methods for preservation of test organisms used for such purposes.
What’s changed since the last update?
BS EN 12353:2021 supersedes EN 12353:2013.
The document was revised to adapt it to the latest state of science, to correct errors and ambiguities.
The following are the significant technical changes since the last edition:
- The methods of preservation of viruses are described more detailed ;
- Mem is not the only suitable cell culture medium, therefore it was replaced by the general term “cell culture medium”;
- The description of bcye agar for legionella was added;
- The information on source of strains was added;
- The information of the storage of documentation was added ;
- Clostrioides difficile was added;
- The cip numbers for fungi were deleted (replaced by umip numbers);
- The used virus strains are re-drafted
The changes mentioned above have no impact on the test results obtained with reference to the previous version. Those results are still valid