Antimicrobial Wash is "better than chlorine"
A new antimicrobial wash that kills pathogens on food at home and in restaurants, grocery stores, beverage manufacturing and food-processing facilities has been licensed to the maker of FIT Fruit and Vegetable Wash.
The new wash was invented by scientists at the University of Georgia (UGA) Center for Food Safety in Griffin, Ga., who announced a year ago they were applying for a patent and seeking to license it. The licensing agreement was made between the University of Georgia Research Foundation (UGARF) and HealthPro Brands, FIT's parent company, which currently sells and antimicrobial food wash.
"The reformulated FIT food wash will kill more harmful microbes faster," said Mike Doyle, the UGA centre's director who, along with microbiologist Tong Zhao, invented the technology. "The new antimicrobial food wash is orders of magnitude more powerful and twice faster."
The new technology can kill significant numbers of E.Coli and salmonella in less than one minute, but it is recommended that the wash be applied from one to five minutes, The technology can be used as a food wash for produce, poultry, meat and eggs.
The wash has no effects on smell, taste, appearance or shelf-life of treated food, said Doyle, a professor with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and an internationally recognised authority on food safety.
The new antimicrobial wash uses a combination of two inexpensive components that are safe for humans and the environment, Doyle said. It contains levulinic acid and sodium dodecyl sulfate.
The new FIT product also will be available as a spray and immersion solution for foods ranging from fragile leafy product to fruits and vegetables to meats and poultry, and can be used on food preparation equipment and food transportation vehicles.
"We look forward to getting our improved product into the hands of industry," said Todd Wichmann, president and CEO of HealthPro Brands.
He predicted that FIT would replace chlorine as the new standard for reducing harmful bacteria levels in industrial settings.
Chlorine is toxic at high concentrations and may produce off flavours and undesirable appearance in certain food products. It can damage equipment too and can only be used, stored and transported which specialized equipment and trained personnel. It's subject to environmental regulations and can damage certain seeds and delicate sprouts.
"We cant relay on chlorine any longer," Doyle said. "In addition to being safer and more acceptable in terms of appearance and smell, our studies have shown this new technology to be considerable more effective than chlorine."
The product outperforms other food sanitation technologies, such as ozone, Doyle said. Ozone, a short lived gas, must be produced using specialised equipment for immediate use on site.
Source: Fresh Cut Magazine - July 2009