Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
the important U.S. Army needs of sanitizing and disinfecting food contact surfaces,
food-handling equipment, and fi eld feeding equipment in U.S. Army fi eld kitchens
and sanitation centers (Doona and others 2008a,b), thereby protecting soldier health
by preventing the spread of foodborne illness through secondary contamination.
The preparation of the chlorine dioxide solution in D-FENS takes 2-3 minutes and
is intended to remain stable at a minimum for an 8-hour shift. The fl exible plastic
pouch has a gusseted bottom that opens for the bottle to stand upright when full of
disinfectant solution, and the material is chemically resistant to afford multiple reuses.
Since the sprayer is collapsible, it reduces the logistics burden for the Army by elimi-
nating the need to transport the weight of water in these units, thereby benefi ting the
environment by decreasing the consumption of fossil fuel required for shipment,
reducing CO
2
emissions, and decreasing landfi ll wastes.
The microbiological effi cacy of chlorine dioxide as produced in the D-FENS
system was determined using the following test protocol and appropriate combinations
of the chlorine dioxide concentration and exposure times needed to inactivate certain
infectious microorganisms. The D-FENS was used to generate chlorine dioxide solu-
tions at concentrations
500 ppm (500 mg chlorine dioxide per 1 liter H
2
O), and the
disinfectant solution was sprayed onto porous agar surfaces in Petri dishes inoculated
with 10
5
S. aureus
. A consistent, steady force was used to dispense approximately
equal volumes of solution per spray-trigger pulse for each experiment, and the plates
were rotated 90 ° between pulses to ensure nearly uniform coverage of the complete
agar surface. This technique was used with or without mechanical abrasion (equivalent
to wiping or scrubbing) using a glass hockey stick to spread the chlorine dioxide
solution. These treatments completely inactivated the infectious bacteria
S. aureus
. In
similar tests, 100 ppm chlorine dioxide solutions effected a
≤
7 - log reduction of a
3-strain cocktail of
S. aureus
inoculated onto stainless steel surfaces after 1, 3, and 5
minutes of contact time. These results demonstrate the effi cacy of the D-FENS system
as an aqueous disinfectant rinse capable of eliminating microbial contaminants on the
nonporous surfaces of fresh produce or as a disinfectant spray to reduce microbes
from hard contact surfaces (e.g., countertops, cutting boards, utensils, etc.) in the food
preparation and handling environment. A number of small businesses involved in food
and food surface sanitation are competing to license the patent for D-FENS and com-
mercialize it for military and civilian consumers in the shortest time practicable.
Although it is technically feasible that chlorine dioxide could inactivate biological
weapons (e.g.,
Bacillus anthracis
or Anthrax,), some chemical agents used as weapons,
or mold in building remediation, D-FENS and the PCS have not yet been tested for
these specifi c applications.
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Modifi ed Atmosphere Packaging (MAP)
FFVs are continually supplied to U.S. Navy ships, submarines, and deployed ground
forces. Improper storage and handling of perishable commodities can contribute to
premature spoilage and expensive losses. In fi scal year 2005, the U.S. Navy estimated
spending over $26M on FFVs with losses attributable to spoilage costing as much as
$3M (12%). Periods of resupplying U.S. Navy ships can be as long as 21 days, a
period that exceeds the average useful shelf life of many commodities. Often as the
