Risk Analysis and Biocontamination Control

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Risk Analysis and Biocontamination Control (RABC, German: Risk Analysis and Control System Biocontamination ) is a system for checking the microbiological quality of textiles during processing in laundries . It was published as European Standard EN 14065: 2002. The aim of the RABC system is to ensure a defined microbiological quality of textiles processed in laundries.

background

The hygienic quality of textiles is increasingly an important characteristic of textiles. At the end of the 1990s, leading European textile service companies joined forces and developed the RABC standard. Different requirements were placed on the standard:

  • it should have European acceptance so that large textile service companies with locations in several countries only have to establish one system and not several national systems;
  • the standard should deal exclusively with the biocontamination of textiles and not consider textile care aspects. The fact that the leasing portion of the laundry - i.e. the laundry that belongs to the laundry and is rented out to customers - is increasing and less and less customer-owned laundry is processed in the laundry;
  • it should not stipulate any microbiological limit values ​​for textiles, as the requirements for textile hygiene differ in the individual European countries;
  • it should be easy to establish the standard in the existing quality management systems of laundries.

scope of application

The system is used in defined areas where control of biocontamination is necessary. The use is thus mainly determined by the intended use of the textiles. The system is used for textiles from the food industry, but also for textiles from the health sector, from the pharmaceutical and cosmetic sectors as well as from the medical device sector . It is also used in the preparation of clean room textiles .

structure

The RABC system can be divided into 3 levels:

  1. The basis for the introduction of a RABC system in a laundry is the good processing requirements (examples are given in Appendix A of EN 14065). This is intended to ensure that all facilities and structural conditions, staff, procurement, operational processes, hygiene plans, training, pest control and others are designed in such a way that biocontamination control of textiles is possible and given.
  2. Preparatory measures for the implementation of the RABC system (Chapter 6.1): Formation of a RABC group, commitment of the management, recording of the necessary facilities and working environments, determination of the intended use of the textiles, creation of a flow chart of the laundry, establishment of process specifications , training and determination of training needs, listing of procurement information.
  3. Use of the RABC system (Chapter 6.2): ​​The HACCP concept used in the food industry served as a template for the RABC system . Therefore, the RABC concept is based on 7 principles:
  • List of microbiological hazards and control measures (informative Annex B and C of EN 14065),
  • Determination of control points,
  • Definition of target limits and tolerances for each control point,
  • Definition of a monitoring system for the control points,
  • Definition of corrective actions for the control points,
  • Establishing a review procedure for the entire RABC system,
  • Keeping appropriate documentation.

Dissemination of the RABC system

Since the European RABC standard EN 14065 was published in 2002, the standard has increasingly been implemented in laundries. The limit values ​​mainly used in Germany come from, among others, the Industrieverband Textilservice e. V., which also issues a RABC certificate.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Leonardo da Vinci research project D / 03 / B / F / PP-146 082 - sub-module 6, special aspects of EN 14065 . (PDF) wfk research institute, p. 18; Retrieved May 1, 2011