andSalmonella. The application rate of this
sanitizer is 125 to 250 ppm. These sanitizers
have the following advantages (Anon., 1997):
●Stable to heat and organic matter, have
nonvolatile characteristics, and can be
heated to any temperature below 100°C
without loss of strength
●Broad temperature range of activity
●Generate low foam—suitable for CIP
equipment
●Generally noncorrosive to stainless steel
and aluminum
●No harmful residue
●Nonselective, permitting destruction of
all vegetable cells
●Safe for use on most food-handling sur-
faces (low toxicity—breaks down into
water, oxygen, and acetic acid)
●Have rapid, broad-spectrum kill (bacte-
ria, yeasts, and molds)
●Are pH-range tolerant
●Effective against biofilms
●Relative tolerance to organic soil
●Allow sanitizing and acid rinse steps to
be combined
Disadvantages are high cost, odor, irri-
tancy, tendency to corrode iron and other
metals, and lower effectiveness against yeasts
and molds than some sanitizers.
Acid-Quat Sanitizers
During the early portion of the 1990s,
organic acid sanitizers formulated with qua-
ternary ammonium compounds were mar-
keted as acid-quat sanitizers. This sanitizer is
effective-especially against L. monocyto-
genes. A limitation of this type of sanitizer is
that it is expensive when compared with the
halogens. These sanitizers have the following
advantages:
●Aggressive against biofilm formations
●Broad spectrum of activity
●Nontoxic, odorless, colorless, tempera-
ture stable●Formation of a residual antimicrobial
film
●Stable with a long shelf life
●Mold and odor controlDisadvantages are:
●Soft metal corrosive potential
●Excessive foaming in mechanical appli-
cations
●Limited low-temperature activity
●Incompatible with anionic wetting agents
●Low hard-water toleranceHydrogen Peroxide
A hydrogen peroxide-based powder in 3%
and 6% solutions has been found to be effec-
tive against biofilms (Felix, 1991). This anti-
bacterial agent may be used on all types of
surfaces, equipment, floors and drains, walls,
steel mesh gloves, belts, and other areas
where contamination exists. This sanitizer
has been demonstrated to be effective
against L. monocytogeneswhen applied to
latex gloves (McCarthy, 1996).
Use of hydrogen peroxide for the steriliza-
tion of food packaging material is in compli-
ance if more than 0.1 ppm can be determined
in distilled water packaged under production
conditions. A hydrogen peroxide solution
may be used by itself or in combination with
other processes to treat food-contact surfaces
prepared from ethylene-acrylic acid copoly-
mers, isomeric resins, ethylene-methyl acry-
late copolymer resins, ethylene-vinyl acetate
copolymers, olefin polymers, polyethylene
terephthalate polymers, and polystyrene and
rubber-modified polystyrene polymers.
Fumigation with vapor phase hydrogen
peroxide (VPHP) is a potential sanitizing
option. It has potent antimicrobial activ-
ity against bacteria, viruses, fungi, and bac-
terial spores and is a possible alternative to
liquid-based disinfectants for decontamina-
tion of food-contact surfaces and equipment
(McDonnell et al., 2002).Sanitizers 181