Special needs for disinfectants in food-handling establishments.

Freedom from microbial and foreign body contamination is essential in food production, and the principal means for controlling the surface route of contamination is sanitation (cleaning and disinfection). After the cleaning phase, disinfection plays a crucial role in further reducing microbial numbers and viability. However, disinfectants for use in the food industry may contaminate the product. Therefore, as well as being effective and suitable for factory use, such disinfectants must also be non-toxic and non-tainting. The author describes the usage criteria and operator safety requirements of disinfectants, together with methods to determine taint potential, toxicity and efficacy. Using these parameters, a limited number of disinfectants are judged suitable for general food industry use and these are compared.