Chemicals Vital for Optimum Cleaning, Says Study

Editor’s note: For more on biofilm research, check out the upcoming December issue of QA magazine.

New research suggests that while chemical detergents are the most effective way of removing micro-organisms, they are also the most expensive, highlighting the problems food processors face in balancing food safety with cost issues.

The research, carried out this month by the UK Campden Chorleywood Food Research Association (CCFRA), was aimed at helping manufacturers comply with increasingly stringent food safety rules without spending too much money.

"This research will help industry appreciate where the greatest costs are incurred and optimize these — for example, through better use of water, cleaning chemicals and energy," the association said.

For the study, the CCFRA attached several stainless steel surfaces to rigs designed to measure cleanliness and water pressure.

The surfaces, each covered with a biofilm of the potentially dangerous bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were then cleaned using hot or cold water, with various pressures, and with or without a cleaning chemical.

Unfortunately for food manufacturers, the results did not come up with one decisive optimal cleaning method, as the most expensive option, a hot water and chemical mix, also removed more bacteria.

Read the full FoodProductionDaily.com story here.