Cleaning products containing microbes as active ingredients are becoming increasingly prevalent as an alternative to chemical-based cleaning products. These microbial-based cleaning products (MBCPs) are being used in domestic and commercial settings (i.e., households and businesses) and institutional settings (e.g., hospitals, schools, etc.), in a variety of cleaning activities (hard surface cleaning, odour control, degreasing, septic tank treatments, etc.). They are typically described as “environmentally friendly” and “non-toxic”. Publicly available information sources (scientific literature, patent databases, commercial websites) were searched for information on microbial species contained in MBCPs, their mode of action, cleaning applications in which they are used, and their potential impacts on human health and the environment. Although information was found providing a broad indication of microbial genera/species used, information on specific species/strains and quantities produced and sold is generally lacking. This makes it difficult to conduct a meaningful examination of any risks to human health and the environment from the production and use of MBCPs and to determine how effective current policies and regulatory frameworks are in addressing these issues. These and other challenges were addressed at an international workshop in Ottawa, Canada in June 2013 by a number of stakeholders, including industry, government, academic and non-governmental organizations.

作为基于化学的清洁产品的替代品，含有微生物作为活性成分的清洁产品正变得越来越普遍。这些基于微生物的清洁产品（MBCP）广泛用于家庭和商业环境（例如，家庭和企业）和机构环境（例如，医院，学校等）中，用于各种清洁活动（硬表面清洁，异味）控制，除油，化粪池处理等）。它们通常被描述为“环保”和“无毒”。搜索了可公开获取的信息来源（科学文献，专利数据库，商业网站），以获取有关MBCP中所含微生物物种，其作用方式，所使用的清洁应用及其对人体健康和环境的潜在影响的信息。尽管发现的信息可以广泛地表明所使用的微生物属/种，但通常缺乏有关特定物种/株系以及生产和销售数量的信息。这使得很难对生产和使用MBCP所造成的对人类健康和环境的任何风险进行有意义的检查，并且难以确定当前的政策和监管框架在解决这些问题方面的有效性。2013年6月在加拿大渥太华举行的一次国际研讨会上，包括行业，政府，学术和非政府组织在内的许多利益相关者对这些挑战和其他挑战进行了探讨。这使得很难对生产和使用MBCP所造成的对人类健康和环境的任何风险进行有意义的检查，并且难以确定当前的政策和监管框架在解决这些问题方面的有效性。2013年6月在加拿大渥太华举行的一次国际研讨会上，包括行业，政府，学术和非政府组织在内的许多利益相关者对这些挑战和其他挑战进行了探讨。这使得很难对生产和使用MBCP所造成的对人类健康和环境的任何风险进行有意义的检查，并且难以确定当前的政策和监管框架在解决这些问题方面的有效性。2013年6月在加拿大渥太华举行的一次国际研讨会上，包括行业，政府，学术和非政府组织在内的许多利益相关者对这些挑战和其他挑战进行了探讨。