ITALY – Catas one of the leading European testing laboratory and products certification body for the wood-furniture sector, with offices in Italy– obtains new accreditation for antibacterial coating.

Accreditation of a test method is granted when the accreditation body certifies that the laboratory meets all the criteria required by the current legislation to ensure the quality of the test result.

The new methods accredited  is ISO 22196:2011 – Measurement of antibacterial activity on plastics and other non-porous surface, which specifies a method for evaluating the antibacterial properties of polymers with antibacterial additives.

In 2020, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and increased concern about the possibility that infections of various kinds can be transmitted through contact with infected surfaces, the demand for tests to evaluate the effectiveness of antibacterial treatments exploded.

Over the last two years, the laboratory has carried out more than 140 tests on a variety of different materials, from coatings to packaging films, from furniture coating materials to floorings.

In order to meet the need for coating manufacturers to endorse their products with an authoritative brand name, Catas has developed a new certification scheme This is the CQA Antibacterial Coating Certification, which, through a specific programme of tests, certifies coating systems for interiors that meet certain performance requirements, including – precisely – antibacterial activity.