Efficacy of commercial sanitizers against fungi of concern in the food industry

Publication date: November 2018 Source:LWT, Volume 97 Author(s): Angélica Olivier Bernardi, Andrieli Stefanello, Marcelo Valle Garcia, Gilson Parussolo, Raquel Facco Stefanello, Camila Brombilla Moro, Marina Venturini Copetti Choosing an active ingredient for sanitizing agents, and the concentrations to be employed for hygiene in food industries is an important step in order to obtain the maximum efficacy of a particular product. However, the data available on the sensitivity of food spoilage fungi to sanitizers are very limited. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the antifungal efficacy of commercial sanitizing agents appropriate for use in food industries on species with potential for food spoilage. Tests were carried out following a European Committee for Standardization (CEN) protocol for testing the antifungal effect of chemical sanitizers, with adaptations. Six fungi were used: Aspergillus brasiliensis (ATCC 16404), Candida albicans (ATCC 10231), Cladosporium cladosporioides (IMI 158517), Penicillium commune (CCT 7683), P. polonicum (NGT 33/12) and P. roqueforti (IMI 217568); five sanitizers were used at three different concentrations: benzalkonium chloride (0.3%, 2.5%, 5%), biguanide (2%, 3.5%, 5%), peracetic acid (0.15%, 1.5%, 3%), quaternary ammonium (0.3%, 2.5%, 5%) and sodium hypochlorite (0.1%, 0.5%, 1.5%). Variation in the antifungal efficacy of sanitizers was seen. Sodium hypochlorite was the most efficient agent at the concentrations evaluated...
Source: LWT Food Science and Technology - Category: Food Science Source Type: research