Be a conscious consumer
The pandemic crisis that the entire world is experiencing has underlined the importance of proper cleaning and sanitising. However, finding the right product to use doesn’t seem to be that easy. We are receiving too much information and input from traditional and social media, and consequently, we end up feeling overwhelmed and confused. An example? Some products report on their packaging claims like these: “Covid Killer” or “Covid Neutraliser”, implying that they are effective against SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing Covid-19.
But how much can we trust these claims? Are they scientifically proven and, therefore, legit to use? Or are they influenced by business goals? If we want to be conscious consumers, there is only a solution: be informed and follow the expert’s advice.
For this reason, we decided to interview Dr. Paolo Mattavelli, Head of the Research & Development Department. Here is everything you need to know about disinfectants and the advertising claims used in certain cases.
1) There is a lot of confusion out there about how to clean and disinfect properly. What should we do?
Unfortunately, since the very beginning of this pandemic, information and guidelines have been very confusing. To avoid confusion and frustration, I believe it’s important to distinguish the following concepts: cleaning, sanitising, and disinfecting.
2) Does it mean we can’t use them as synonymous?
Absolutely not. Cleaning, sanitising, and disinfecting are different processes that require specific products.
3) Let’s get clear then: what does “cleaning” mean?
Cleaning is the necessary process you need to adopt in order to have a cleaned and washed surface and environment. It requires cleaners that remove dirt, the favourable habitat for bacteria and mould that can hide viruses of any type. The cleaning process, instead of killing the pathogen, removes it, together with its habitat.
4) Is cleaning enough to reduce the risk of contamination?
No, cleaning is necessary because it removes viruses and bacteria from surfaces, but it does not eliminate them. You can reduce the risk of contamination by proceeding with another step.
5) What is the next step?
The next step consists of disinfecting what you have previously cleaned. This process requires specific products, called disinfectants.
6) What kind of features must a disinfectant have?
A disinfectant is a registered product that kills pathogens (viruses, bacteria, mould). Testing its formulation is necessary to check its effectiveness and hazardousness. European countries currently provide for different procedures, even though everywhere disinfectants must be registered to be sold on the market.
In Italy, for example, this process is carried out by the Istituto Superiore della Sanità in agreement with the Ministry of Health, which will issue the title of Presidio Medico Chirurgico and the registration number. These indications must appear on the packaging of the product.
In Germany and Poland, the procedure is alike to the Italian one and ends with obtaining a registration number. In France, the United Kingdom, and Portugal, on the other hand, the competent authorities issue a simple authorisation to sell.
All these procedures are being harmonised by the EU Biocides Regulation, which will regulate the trade of disinfectants throughout Europe. The use of the term “disinfectant” and all the claims that make consumers think of a product that kills pathogens is, therefore, subject to precise regulations that manufacturers must observe.
7) What does “sanitisation” mean, instead?
Sanitisation is a strictly operational concept that foresees, in sequence, the cleaning and disinfection phases. These two steps are declined in terms of methods and procedures to follow, tools and products to use, in order to guarantee the expected result. Let me get this straight. If, for example, you want to sanitise the indoor unit of an air conditioning system, you need to know which parts of the plant you must clean and disinfect, how to do it and with which products, how often, and which tools are most suitable to obtain the desired result.
8) Do you suggest using disinfectants, then?
My advice is to read always the instructions of the product carefully so that you can identify the most suitable one for your needs. If you need to disinfect a hospital, a nursing home, or a place where you are sure there was someone infected, then choosing a disinfectant recognized effective against that category of microorganisms is the best solution to take.
9) Why did the international authorities suggest using only alcohol or bleach against the SARS-CoV-2 virus?
The WHO’s advice to use alcohol and bleach depended on the need to provide everyone with a simple and available solution at a time of extreme crisis and global urgency. Now that the situation is more under control than before and the virus is better known, we can’t keep affirming alcohol or bleach are the best choices. Consumers should choose registered disinfectants, whose formulation is clinically tested on the coronavirus family.
10) Should we trust products that claim to be effective against Covid-19?
Consumers need to be careful about this. In Europe, to declare a product effective against a specific virus, bacterium, or mould, it must be tested on that precise pathogen. Unfortunately, this claim is often used inappropriately, especially concerning diseases that are particularly dangerous for humans. It is the case of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing Covid-19. This virus never entered any laboratory that tests the effectiveness of products, to safeguard the health of operators. In these cases, the procedure adopted by the laboratories is to test the products on viruses belonging to the same family as the one of interest, but with a lower level of danger. This procedure leads to the following conclusion: if the product is effective against viruses belonging to the same family as the most dangerous one, then the latter one will also be killed.
This deduction is universally recognised in terms of the effectiveness of the product but, at the same time, the use of claims stating its effectiveness against the specific most dangerous virus is not permitted. For example, claiming that the product is effective against a precise virus, such as the rotavirus, is not the same as claiming that the product is effective against the Reoviridae family.
11) Talking about disinfectants sold in Europe: what are the fair claims that the manufacturers can use?
First, you should know that the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing Covid-19 belongs to the family of enveloped viruses and the coronavirus family is a subfamily of the latter. Therefore, European products that have not been tested against SARS-Cov-2 but against the family to which they belong, should use the following claims: “effective against the enveloped virus family”, or “effective against the coronavirus family”.
12) Do you have other advice for our readers?
My advice is to have a precise sanitisation plan that considers the actual needs, according to the specific areas to treat.
It is important to pay attention to the materials that need to be cleaned and disinfected, to prevent overly aggressive sanitisation practices from removing any paint or resulting in the formation of rust, potential habitat for bacteria and mould. Besides, I would like to stress that the attention currently paid to the pandemic should not result in neglecting the existence of other pathogens.
