Washing Salads -- Disinfect to Prevent Illness

[Guest guest]

Thanks ! Great research on preventing food born illness.

An important point: The research is valid only if the bacterial

and viral contamination is exposed to the disinfecting agent.

Otherwise, the research does not apply.

For fecal contamination (eg, bird excretion), there is often a hard

and a crusty layer of built-up feces. The feces below that tough

hard layer will fail to be exposed to the disinfectant.

To disinfect such fecal contamination, a wetting agent can be added

to water for a good soaking of 10 to 20 minutes (or longer optimally).

The wetting agent lowers surface tension, dissolves fats (resident

in feces), and allows the water to penetrate the dry tough crustal

layer of excrement, which can then be dislodged with agitation or

scrubbing. Then the disinfecting agent can be effective.

-- Warren

=========================

On 20 Dec 2003, wrote:

> BACTERIA REMOVAL

>

> ... The most effective produce sanitizers in very tentatively estimated

> descending order of effectiveness -- because of incomparability of

> most of the studies -- are:

>

> - Procter & Gamble's FIT,

> - peroxyacetic acid.

> - 4% acetic acid,

> - sodium dichloroisocyanurate,

> - 3% H2O2 or 2% H2O2 at 50 degrees C. for 60 seconds,

> - chlorine at concentrations up to 2000 ppm, and

> - at least 50% strength vinegar (especially with table salt added).

>

> VIRUS REMOVAL

>

> Of these, the following are documented to have some effectiveness

> against viruses:

>

> - peroxyacetic acid and H2O2 when used at four times the

> manufacturers' recommended concentration for 10 min,

> - acidified sodium hypochlorite, with 50 to 300 ppm free chlorine

> (>98% virus reduction), and

> - vinegar (>95%)

>

> FIT was not effective against viruses. Some of the other products may

> have been effective, but I couldn't find research corroboration

> indicating that they were.