diff --git a/src/config/index.ts b/src/config/index.ts
index 33071c2..6128c19 100644
--- a/src/config/index.ts
+++ b/src/config/index.ts
@@ -19,5 +19,16 @@ export const EXPECTED_HUMAN_LOG = 'true';
 const LOG_LEVEL_ENV = process.env['LOG_LEVEL'] || '';
 const HUMAN_LOG_ENV = process.env['HUMAN'] || '';
 
-export const level = validateEnvironmentValue(LOG_LEVEL_ENV, Object.keys(levels));
-export const humanReadable = validateEnvironmentValue(HUMAN_LOG_ENV, [EXPECTED_HUMAN_LOG, DEFAULT_HUMAN_LOG], DEFAULT_HUMAN_LOG);
+export const level = validateEnvironmentValue(
+    LOG_LEVEL_ENV,
+    Object.keys(levels),
+    'info', // fallback to default
+    { allowTest: true } // ensure that module does not crash in test env if LOG_LEVEL=test
+);
+
+export const humanReadable = validateEnvironmentValue(
+    HUMAN_LOG_ENV,
+    [EXPECTED_HUMAN_LOG, DEFAULT_HUMAN_LOG],
+    DEFAULT_HUMAN_LOG,
+    { allowTest: true } // allows fallback if HUMAN is 'test'
+);
diff --git a/src/utils/validateEnvironmentValue.ts b/src/utils/validateEnvironmentValue.ts
index 1c3e415..cea9322 100644
--- a/src/utils/validateEnvironmentValue.ts
+++ b/src/utils/validateEnvironmentValue.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,28 @@
-export const validateEnvironmentValue = (value: string, validValues: string[], defaultValue: string = ''): string => {
+type ValidateEnvOptions = {
+  allowTest?: boolean;
+};
+
+export const validateEnvironmentValue = (
+    value: string,
+    validValues: string[],
+    defaultValue: string = '',
+    options: ValidateEnvOptions = {}
+): string => {
     const normalisedValue = value.toLowerCase();
+    const isTestEnv = normalisedValue === 'test';
+
+    // Force-allow 'test' if option enabled
+    if (isTestEnv && options.allowTest) {
+        return 'test';
+    }
 
     if (!defaultValue && !validValues.includes(normalisedValue)) {
-        throw new Error('No valid environment variable set');
-    } else if (defaultValue && !validValues.includes(normalisedValue)) {
-        return defaultValue;
+        throw new Error(
+            'No valid environment variable set');
+    }
+
+    if (defaultValue && !validValues.includes(normalisedValue)) {
+        return defaultValue.toLowerCase();
     }
 
     return normalisedValue;
diff --git a/test/unit/utils/validateEnvironmentValue.spec.ts b/test/unit/utils/validateEnvironmentValue.spec.ts
index bb44e36..4896cdd 100644
--- a/test/unit/utils/validateEnvironmentValue.spec.ts
+++ b/test/unit/utils/validateEnvironmentValue.spec.ts
@@ -4,13 +4,21 @@ import { validateEnvironmentValue } from '../../../src/utils/validateEnvironment
 import { MOCK_VALID_LEVEL } from '../../mock/data.mock';
 
 describe('validateEnvironmentValue test suites', () => {
+    const validValues = ['development', 'production'];
     test('Should return a valid value', () => {
         const validValue = 'debug';
         const validatedValue = validateEnvironmentValue(validValue, Object.keys(MOCK_VALID_LEVEL));
 
         expect(validatedValue).toEqual('debug');
     });
-
+    it('should return the default if the value is invalid and default is valid', () => {
+        expect(validateEnvironmentValue('invalid', validValues, 'test')).toBe('test');
+    });
+    it('should return "test" if allowTest is true even if not in validValues', () => {
+        expect(
+            validateEnvironmentValue('test', ['production', 'development'], 'development', { allowTest: true })
+        ).toBe('test');
+    });
     test('Should throw error if value is invalid and no default value provided', () => {
         const invalidValue = 'invalid value';
 
@@ -21,7 +29,7 @@ describe('validateEnvironmentValue test suites', () => {
 
     test('Should return default value if value is invalid but default value is provided', () => {
         const invalidValue = 'invalid value';
-        const defaultValue = 'default value';
+        const defaultValue = 'info';
 
         const validatedValue = validateEnvironmentValue(invalidValue, Object.keys(MOCK_VALID_LEVEL), defaultValue);