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Cleaning and disinfection are used in several steps of the food supply chain to prevent crosscontamination and microbial contamination of the end product. However, the use of cleaning and disinfection agents may result in chemical residues in food products. Therefore, the aim of this research was to gain insight into the active ingredients used as cleaning agents and disinfectants, their efficacy and whether potential residues may result in human health risks. During phase I of this research insights were gained on the active ingredients used in cleaning agents and disinfectants applied in poultry, eggs, leafy vegetables, and sprouts supply chains as example food chains, making use of a literature study, monitoring data, questionnaires and interviews. After this first phase, the second phase of this study focused on the poultry supply chain. An expert study, using questionnaires and interviews, was held in order to get more information on the use and the most important active ingredients for human health risks in cleaning agents. Furthermore, with a literature study, the efficacy of active ingredients (log reduction of pathogens), the possible by-products, and the toxicity of active ingredients was established for disinfectant. Phase I: LegislationOnly chemicals that are registered under Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of Chemicals (REACH) can be used in cleaning and disinfection products. The regulation of disinfectants within the European Union (EU) is more extensive compared to cleaning agents, as additional safety assessments are explicitly needed for the intended use of the disinfectants(Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 -Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR)). First, European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) performs a safety assessment on the level of solely the active ingredients. Secondly, another safety assessment has to be performed on the complete biocidal product under the responsibility of the Member States.In the Netherlands, the Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides (College voor de toelating van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen en biociden -Ctgb) is responsible for the authorisation of disinfectants. The Ctgb evaluates whether the intended use of the product is safe for humans, animals and the environment. Phase I: Cleaning and disinfection in poultry, egg, leafy vegetables and sprouts chainsA literature study, questionnaires and interviews, as well as the Ctgb database were used to establish a long-list of cleaning agents consisting of 37 active ingredients and of disinfection agents consisting of 42 active ingredients possible used for cleaning and disinfection in the Netherlands in poultry, egg, leafy vegetables and sprouts chains. Although a prioritisation of active ingredients in cleaning agents on risk of possible residues in food products was not possible, a long-list of disinfection agents was prioritised into a so-called intermediate list of 18 active ingredients. Disinfectants that were authorised by Ctgb but for which human health risks could not be exclu...

PurposeLeafy vegetables may get contaminated with pathogens through the use of irrigation water during open field cultivation. The main control option to prevent this contamination is the use of disinfection technologies that will reduce the pathogenic load of the irrigation water. Several technologies, either chemical or physical, are available for disinfection, which were gathered from the literature and European Union (EU) projects. The purpose of this paper is to prioritise these technologies.Design/methodology/approachA feasibility study was performed to identify the most promising disinfection technology considering 12 different criteria. A two-tier approach was used in which the technologies were first evaluated based on three criteria: legal status, effectiveness and technology readiness level (TRL). Only the technologies that reached pre-set thresholds for these three criteria were then evaluated in the second tier.FindingsThe evaluation showed that the most promising technologies after the tier-2 evaluation were ultrasound, microfiltration, ultraviolet and ozone. The study showed that the followed approach enabled prioritising disinfection technologies allowing for selecting the most promising technologies that can be tested further on a possible application during primary production to prevent possible food safety issues in leafy vegetables.Research limitations/implicationsThe overview is not an exhaustive list of disinfection technologies available rather only those technologies that seemed promising for application in horticulture were addressed. Some technologies may, thus, have been missed. Nevertheless, a total of 12 single and seven combined technologies were evaluated.Originality/valueThis is the first study that uses a structured approach to prioritise a broad range of possible water disinfection technologies for use at primary production.