Although many of the appliances and other items used in commercial operations, including restaurants and nursing homes, are required to meet the sanitation guidelines of national standards, there are few regulations requiring that products designed for home use meet similar standards.
Due to increased demand from consumers, independent testing protocols have been developed to address the issue of sanitation and performance of many products for the home. As a result, many manufacturers are now submitting their products for testing to ensure their products meet the specific sanitation, design, and/or performance guidelines.
Now, consumers can now have the same assurance for their appliances and other products that commercial users have had for years.
Residential appliances are one of the major product categories for which independent testing for health and sanitation is now available. Major appliances covered by testing protocols include dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers, refrigerators, ovens, and ranges. Testing is also available for many smaller appliances, including microwaves, coffee makers, blenders, and food processors.
One of the most popular residential appliance testing standards is ANSI/NSF Standard 184 - Residential Dishwashers. This national standard establishes evaluation criteria to ensure that residential dishwashers clean and sanitize dishes effectively in order to assist in preventing foodborne illness.
Additional residential appliance testing protocols that have been adopted include:
There are many other products designed for home use for which testing for sanitation and/or performance is also available.
If you are interested in obtaining a list of the home appliances and other products that have been evaluated by our organization against the protocols listed above, you are welcome to visit our online product database at www.nsf.org/certified/, selecting "Residential Appliances" or "Authorized Protocols" from the programs listed.
