Sanitizers and Disinfectants: A Retail Food and Foodservice Perspective

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought heightened attention to the importance of cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting in retail food and foodservice establishments. In response, major governmental agencies have emphasized the need to frequently disinfect high-touch surfaces. While this recommendation may seem straightforward and achievable, it is far more nuanced and complex. In the retail food and foodservice industry, sanitization is a routine, common practice defined and recommended in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Code. Hence, sanitizers, rather than disinfectants, are the main antimicrobial products used in these settings. It is important to emphasize that sanitizers and disinfectants are not interchangeable products, so they may be inadvertently misused. Therefore, end users need to understand the differences of when, why, and how both can be used in retail food and foodservice settings. The aim of this paper is to increase end users' knowledge and awareness about the proper use of sanitizers and disinfectants in retail food and foodservice establishments. This paper is organized into six sections-Antimicrobial Products: Sanitizers and Disinfectants, FDA Food Code, Regulation of Sanitizers and Disinfectants, Understanding EPA-Registered Labels, Emerging Issues, and Current and Future Trends in Sanitizing and Disinfecting. When used properly, sanitizers and disinfectants are powerful tools that can keep retail food and foodservice operations safe from pathogens that cause infectious disease. OVERVIEWCOVID-19 has brought heightened attention to the importance of cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting in retail food and foodservice establishments. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is primarily transmitted through person-to-person contact via respiratory droplets from coughing, sneezing, talking,

Architectural Features and Resistance to Food-Grade Disinfectants in Listeria monocytogenes-Pseudomonas spp. Dual-Species Biofilms

“…In this last part of the study, K ′ value and the LD 50 against disinfectants commonly used in food-related industrial premises ( Fraser et al, 2021 ) were determined using a dose-response approach fitting the experimental data to a modified Gompertz equation ( Murado et al, 2002 ).…”

Efficacy of EPA-registered disinfectants against two human norovirus surrogates and Clostridioides difficile endospores

“…Specifically, the D‐values (>5 min) of two H 2 O 2 ‐based products (C and E) were greater than those of products A and D, which contained even lower concentrations of H 2 O 2 . These higher D‐values may be explained by the interactions between active ingredients and inert ingredients (Cromeans et al, 2014), added to improve cleaning performance, aesthetics, formulation stability and hard water tolerance (Fraser et al, 2021). In addition to H 2 O 2, accelerated hydrogen peroxide contains surfactants and other inert ingredients, which act synergistically to yield an efficacious disinfectant (Grascha & Battut, 2014; Ramirez & Omidbakhsh, 2014; Ramirez & Rochon, 2004; Watts et al, 2007).…”

Salmonella Biofilm on Food Contact Surfaces and the Efficacy of Chemical Disinfectants: A Systematic Review

“…Disinfection of food contact surfaces is crucial in maintaining the safety and quality of food products and reducing contamination by foodborne pathogens (Zhang et al, 2021). Most commonly, the disinfectants would have active ingredients such as chlorine, quaternary ammonium compounds, peroxides, peracids, acid anionics, and alcohol that have an antimicrobial effect (Fraser et al, 2021). The general protocol for using chemical disinfectants is to clean the surface, rinse with potable water, apply the disinfectant, rinse again using potable water, and finally apply a food-grade sanitiser.…”