Ecolab Earns 2009 IFT Food Expo Innovation Award

ST. PAUL, Minn.- Ecolab Inc. has been named a 2009 recipient of the “IFT Food Expo Innovation Award” for the development of the first and presently only peroxyacetic acid-based commercial sterilant system registered with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use against the highly resistant pathogen, Bacillus cereus. The program is part of Ecolab’s ongoing commitment to partnering with its customers to help them deliver food safely to consumers.

Presented to Ecolab by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) at its Annual Meeting & Food Expo on Sunday, June 7, the award is designed to honor outstanding innovation in products, ingredients, applications, instruments, equipment, technology and services.

“We are extremely proud to have been recognized by IFT for this industry innovation,” said Timothy P. Mulhere, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Food & Beverage North America business at Ecolab. “This program demonstrates again our commitment to food safety, and reflects our continuing work to develop new and innovative ways to drive food safety solutions throughout the entire food processing industry.”

Ecolab’s patented program of Enviro San® and ES-1000™ products allows for effective antimicrobial sterilization with lower concentrations of peroxyacetic acid. The dual product system is designed for use in aseptic packaging of low acid beverages in plastic packaging materials, such as Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) bottling applications. In the U.S., it is commercially used on high speed, rotary fillers for low acid, aseptically packed beverages in recyclable containers.

“The aseptic package is the package of the future,” said Dr. Katherine M. Swanson, Vice President of Food Safety at Ecolab. “The packaging is shelf-stable, food safe, energy efficient and recyclable, which makes the package attractive and desirable to retailers and consumers. Using this method in combination with our EPA-registered product that is effective against highly resistant pathogens, food processors can achieve the longest possible shelf life without the use of preservatives or refrigeration. Moving from refrigerated to shelf-stable products opens new opportunities for processors by allowing them to consolidate operations and extend their distribution chain. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.”

Judges from industry, academia and government with expertise in ingredients, product development, processing and packaging technology, microbiology, and food safety reviewed all IFT award entries. Judging criteria included: degree of innovation; solves a problem relevant to food science and technology; technical advancement; benefits to food manufacturers; benefit to consumers; and scientific merit.

One judge wrote on Ecolab’s winning product submission:

“In these days of ever-growing need to improve safety and absolutely ensure consumer protection, this technology should provide a very valuable and important added safety.”

For more information on Enviro San and ES-1000, look for the company’s previous press release on the product at www.ecolab.com.