SOURCE OF
ENGINEER
71
MAY 2017 FOOD FOCUSTHAILAND
AlcoholSeries
asDisinfectants
Mostof food factoriesuse70%alcohol tosprayon toolsandequipment,orevenonhands todisinfectmicroorganisms,
but in reality, it isnot perfectlysterilized. Ineffectivenessof alcohol can result fromnumbersof factorseither theamount
of the decease, the humidity of the device itself or the type of germs not responded to alcohol. If so, what kind of
substance can help to resolve this problem?
Many studies have indicated that 70% alcohol
alone isnot aseffectiveasusing in combinationwith
othercompounds.For instance,commoncompounds
that havebeenprovenby a research for aneffective
cleaningare;
1.Alcohol + Lactic acid
2.Alcohol +Acetic acid
3.Alcohol + Lysozyme
4.Alcohol +Polylysine
5.Alcohol +Chitosan
Other additivesmaybeadded toprovidespecific
propertiesbesidessterilization, suchassurfactant or
cleaning agent. Each substance performs different
disinfectionefficiencies. Therefore, it isnecessary to
test for disinfecting solution, which depends on the
following factors:
1.Alcohol,at theconcentrationof40-60%solution.
In this case, in excess of 70% is legally considered
as a drug that must be registered to different
provisions.
2.Theamountofcompoundagentsadded ranges
from 3-10% dependingon the formula.
3.Otheradditivesadded toenhance theabsorption
or catalytic activity.
4. Purity or compound grade is a significant part
of disinfecting each type of germs and it could be a
confidential researchcarriedoutbyeach rawmaterial
producer, suchasChitosanor Lysosome, and tofind
an efficient manufacturing to produce the product
according to the requirement.
There isawide rangeof theapplicationdepending
on the contact areas that require a disinfectant. The
applications include
1.Sprayingonmachineryandequipment:
The
disinfectant agent will be an industrial grade that is
not contact food directly.
2.Sprayonhandsofworkers in theproduction
lines:
The use of disinfecting substances must be
considered for thesafetyofbothusersandconsumers
since theyhave likewiseamoreopportunity tocontact
food products. The users may need to soften their
handsmore thanusual because theyworkwith their
hands at all time.
3. Spraying on food products:
All substances
mustbe foodgrade,because theyareexposeddirectly
to the food product. The use of disinfectants in food
as such clearly intents to reducemicroorganisms to
prolong the shelf life of foodproducts.
4. Soaking:
Just like spraying on a product
technique, but merely aims to simplify the automatic
productionprocess.However,bothmethodsmustnot
change the tasteof the foodproductsdue to thesmell
of the substance.
5. Adding into food products directly:
The
substance used in this method becomes part of
product’s ingredients that enhance the taste of food,
andof course, it must be a foodgrade only.
Thechoiceofalcohol series tobeuseddependson theparticularpurposes,whether
the users want to kill or decrease the microorganisms, or prefer for other additional
properties. Selectiondecisions shouldbebasedon the functionof thedisinfectant or is
used to prolong a shelf life of productswhich is directly involvedwith food safety.
