EFHSS Questions and Answers - Question Q00084

Dear Sir / Madam,

I am from India and wish to know if there are any standards or specifications for Hospital Linen Wraps, i.e. for the linen which is used to wrap the instruments prior to autoclaving.

I would be highly obliged if you could tell me whether there are any standards and specifications for the material to be used for the linen wraps.

Kindly also tell me some manufacturer's names who manufacture "hospital linen wrap".

Thanking you,
Regards,
Anchal Gupta

Dear,

The requirements that have to be met in Europe by packaging materials are described in the EN 868 - 1: Packaging materials and systems for medical devices which are to be sterilised - Part 1: General requirements and test methods.
The most important purpose of the packaging material it to prevent recontamination of the materials after sterilization. Linen has very bad microbial barrier properties. So linen can only be used in combination with another packaging material that meets the requirements.

Kind regards,
Wim Renders