Disinfectants Can’t Defeat Salmonella in Food-Processing Plants
Once salmonella finds its way into a food-processing plant, the bacteria can be extremely hard to eliminate, a new study finds.
Researchers used three types of disinfectants to try to kill a build-up of salmonella bacteria — known as a biofilm — that had formed on a variety of hard surfaces. The study was published online and in the February print issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
“We found that it was not possible to kill the salmonella cells using any of the three disinfectants if the biofilm was allowed to grow for seven days before the disinfectant was applied,” researcher Mary Corcoran, of National University Ireland, said in a journal news release.
The biofilms survived even after the researchers soaked them in disinfectant for 90 minutes.
“We found that all of the types of salmonella we looked at were able to adopt the specialized biofilm lifestyle on all of the surfaces we looked at, including glass, stainless steel, glazed tile and plastic,” Corcoran said. “The biofilm of salmonella gets more dense over time, and becomes more firmly attached to the surface.”
Corcoran said the findings show that food-processing facilities must keep salmonella out of clean areas where cooked foods are further processed and packaged.
“People need to question whether disinfectants that are promoted as killing various types of bacteria are really as effective in real-life situations where biofilms can form as they are claimed to be based on experiments that do not use biofilms,” she said. “A lot of the time, the disinfectant may add very little, if anything, to good cleaning and appropriate food-handling practices.”
Further research is needed to find better ways to kill salmonella biofilms, Corcoran said.
Each year in the United States, there are more than 1 million cases of salmonella infection that result in 23,000 hospitalizations and 450 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Source: news.health.com, January 20, 2014
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25th ISSA/INTERCLEAN Amsterdam launches dedicated Steam Cleaning Pavilion
At ISSA/INTERCLEAN 2014 a dedicated Steam Cleaning Pavilion is being launched where steam cleaning companies will be conveniently clustered to service the visitor in the time they spend at the show and make it easier to get the most out of their visit. The pavilion will become a comprehensive showcase and information resource for the steam cleaning sector.
“The steam cleaning sector has rapidly developed in the past years, and shifted from mainly consumer appliances to better and broader solutions for the professional market, witnessed also by the expanding number of steam cleaning manufacturers exhibiting at ISSA/INTERCLEAN,” explains ISSA/INTERCLEAN manager, Rob den Hertog.
“By creating a Steam pavilion, we want to highlight the developments and innovations that have taken place in recent years,” he adds, “and at the same time better facilitate the visitor. In our evaluations the Washroom and High Pressure dedicated pavilions were widely recognized as helping the visitors in their time management by clustering the companies in the specific segments together.“
Thomas Stuecken, Chairman of OSPREYDEEPCLEAN and CCO of the new OSPREYFRANK group explains, “As the leading group in developing and manufacturing mobile and stationary dry-steam cleaning technologies we are experiencing a significant market growth for highly efficient and detergent-free cleaning solutions in the field of industrial degreasing, for example before painting and coating, and also in the field of sanitation of conveyor belts in the food processing sector.”
He is excited about the new initiative, “OSPREYFRANK are looking forward to featuring our new technologies within the dedicated dry-Steam Cleaning Area at ISSA INTERCLEAN Amsterdam 2014.”
Massimiliano Menichini, CEO of MENIKINI confirms the growing interest in steam cleaning in recent years, ‘’As international leader in dry steam technology, we see an significant increase in our markets. Worldwide, steam cleaning is increasingly acknowledged as the method of choice for efficient and sustainable cleaning.” Menikini is pleased to be part of this new Steam Cleaning pavilion and we will be presenting out latest innovations.”
The dedicated Steam Cleaning Area will be located in hall 11, adjacent the dedicated WASHROOM Area, and has direct access to an outside demonstration area for special and outdoor applications. The Steam Cleaning Area sharing with WASHROOM will have a dedicated seminar theatre where a series of keynote and exhibitor presentations will be held.
The 25th anniversary edition of ISSA/INTERCLEAN Amsterdam will be held 6-9 May 2014 in Amsterdam RAI, the Netherlands.
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The BioTech app is available now
Innovative BioTech (biologically active) toilet tissue arrives at the AppStore with a specifically designed application. Look for the “BioTech Challenge”, download application free of charge and begin your sanitary pipe-cleaning challenge. You can choose among five different scenarios (services, industry, school, ho.re.ca, health & fitness) and levels of difficulty. Help Little B fight off deposits that block pipes and drains. Thanks to the innovative biologically active toilet tissue, you can unleash the micro-organisms against the threat of blockages in washroom pipes. At the end of the game, share your score online and climb up in the ranking. For further information on BioTech technology and products, visit the website biotech.papernet.it.
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Study On Laundered Towels Finds E. Coli, Tetanus
Dr. Charles Gerba, a University of Arizona microbiologist known as “Dr. Germ,” spends his days digging into the unseen — uncovering the world of germs, pathogens and bacteria everyone knows exists but prefers not to think about.
Gerba’s recent study of hospital cleaning towels shows why the world of pathogens we live in is something that should be on the minds of jan/san distributors, building service contractors and in-house service providers — especially in hospital settings, where at any given time, approximately one in every 20 patients acquires an infection from these tiny dangers.
These infections cost the U.S. healthcare system as much as $147 billion each year, according to the Journal of Medical Economics, and can lead to these patients paying the ultimate price — their lives.
Recently, Gerba turned his microscope on the microfiber and cotton cloths used to clean hospital rooms. He found that the very tools being used to wipe germs away could be spreading them around.
The study selected 10 Arizona hospitals at random, and collected three clean cloth or microfiber towels from each location. It also collected samples from the inside surface of the bucket used to soak the towels in disinfectant. He then tested the samples for bacteria. What he found was surprising: 93 percent of the laundered towels used to clean hospital rooms contained bacteria — ranging from E. Coli to total coliforms (bacteria indicative of fecal matter) to Klebsiella, all of which could result in hospital acquired infections (HAIs).
“Some cloths actually had E-coli in them after supposedly being cleaned for re-use in hospital rooms,” Gerba says. “E-coli was the main one, but there was a number of other bacteria known to cause HAIs, as well.”
The study points to insufficient laundering practices as one culprit, but also revealed that 67 percent of buckets with disinfectant used to soak cloths contained viable bacteria, including spore-forming bacteria, which can cause botulism and Tetanus.
“It is concerning to think that the very processes hospitals use to prevent the spread of bacteria may actually cause it,” Gerba says.
In a separate companion study, Gerba learned that laundered cotton towels can actually reduce the strength of hospital-grade disinfectants by up to 85.3 percent. The key concern is how to keep microfiber and cotton cloths effective for the longest period of time.
Steven Attman, co-owner of Acme Paper & Supply Co., Inc. of Richmond, Va., explains the study shows that there’s a breakdown occurring caused by the chemicals being used and microorganisms being left behind after laundering.
All of these study findings point to the need for hospital cleaning staffs and infection control experts to rethink their current cleaning practices and products. One way distributors can help healthcare facilities curb cross-contamination is to introduce alternative products, such as wet wipes, disposable wipers and disposable microfiber.
Source: cleanlink.com, By Ronnie Garrett, 2/19/2014
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Glass that cleans itself
Derived from graphene, a nano-material, and obtained through the technique of chemical exfoliation, the glass that is capable of cleaning itself is composed of a slender layer of nano-porous titanium oxide. The compound obtained takes on the appearance of a very thin, clear film, and it is precisely this property that lets the glass clean its surface simply with the use of sunlight. This possibility will, in fact, reduce the need to perform frequent cleaning, and perhaps even cleaning under dangerous circumstances, such as the windows in high-rise buildings or skyscrapers.
Self-cleaning glass and its application is the fruit of research conducted by Dr. Luca Malfatti and Professor Plinio Innocenzi at the Material Science and Nanotechnology Laboratory of the Department of Architecture, Design and Town Planning at the University of Sassari.
The Technical University of Graz and the Department of Material Science and Engineering of the “Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation” (Csiro) in Australia also contributed to the research paper published in the international magazine Acs Applied Materials & Interfaces.
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Countdown begins for the Forum “Pulire” (Cleaning Forum)
Works at the Forum Pulire (Cleaning Forum) are slated to begin at 10.30 on Wednesday March 26 with the plenary session dedicated to Rationalization and innovation entitled ‘Which Nation? Which Services? Prospects beyond severity and austerity in the direction of a quality system’. Starting from Italy’s economic system and the current state of malaise, the new value to be given to the term innovation will be identified and discussions will be centered on how industry will evolve, what will be offered by Expo, and how training will improve. Attention will be focused on the management of the human factor, and the element of innovation in the processes of supply and demand of services as a guarantee of quality will be considered.
In the afternoon at 14.00 the workshop on innovation will address the topic ‘Research and experimentation to develop competitiveness’ with the objective of demonstrating the contribution made by scientific research to the nation’s competitiveness over the years and to its most successful companies. This will be followed at 15.30 by the workshop on development entitled ‘Starting over again: skills, resources and markets’, in other words, the way to resume talking about development: the commitment required by institutions, entrepreneurs and civil society. In particular, the opportunities for the sector abroad and in vertical internal markets such as ho.re.ca, transport, and major works will be highlighted. The first day will be brought to conclusion with the workshop on Rationalization at 17.00 focused on ‘Revising the distribution organizational model’.
The opening event on Thursday, March 27 is reserved to the workshop on lawfulness entitled ‘The value of lawfulness in tender procedures in the services sector’ scheduled to start at 09.30. The day will close with the second plenary session entitled ‘Development and lawfulness: indivisible synergy’. This will provide the occasion to reflect on the nation’s pressing need for the respect of the law in the integrated services sector and the need to assign greater value to the human factor by both companies and workers. A “clean” system in which activities are based on professional commitment and expertise and not just the logic of profit and earnings is the only choice possible.
Forum Pulire is sponsored by: AfidampFAB and AfidampCOM and organized by Afidamp Servizi. The partners are CNA, FISE ANIP Confindustria, FNIP Confcommercio, Confcooperative, Legacoop Servizi, ONBSI, and Scuola Nazionale Servizi/The National Services School.
For more information: http://www.forumpulire.it/2014/
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Is zinc the cause of arthrosis?
An accumulation of zinc might be one of the causes of arthrosis. That’s what the Korean scientists at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology believe, even if the theory has only been tested on laboratory animals so far.
Zinc is a metal that enters the human organism through foods. The researchers concentrated their efforts on checking whether its accumulation might be the cause of this debilitating disease.
Arthrosis is characterized by the progressive deterioration that culminates in the destruction of the cartilage in between the joints. Jang-Soo Chun, who coordinated the research, explained that this deterioration is caused by specific proteins, “the so-called enzymes that deteriorate the matrix” that the cartilage cells themselves produce.
“Cartilage is formed of the so-called extracellular matrix, an amorphous substance in which the real cartilage cells live”. These are the ones, Jang-Soo Chun continued, that destroy the matrix through the enzymes they produce. This process, the expert added, unfolds “in our opinion, with a little help from zinc”.
In order to test this hypothesis, the researchers investigated this metal more closely and discovered an extremely high presence of a protein known as Zip8 in sick laboratory mice and human beings. This protein is present in the membrane of the cartilage cells that lead the zinc molecules inside the cells themselves. The experts believe an excess of Zip8 to be the cause of an anomalous accumulation of zinc in the cells.
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Chemical or natural? A blog from Canada to refute common misconceptions
“Chemical” is an adjective that unfortunately for many people still carries a negative connotation, almost synonymous with “bad for health”. Dorea Reeser, doctorate student in Environmental Chemistry at the University of Toronto in Canada, decided to refute a number of popular misconceptions in a blog entitled Chemicals are your friends (http://chemicalsareyourfriends.com/). First of all, Ms. Reeser clarifies that from the scientist’s point of view even the most natural substances, such as oxygen and water, are nothing but chemical compounds or elements themselves. Her clarification continues with what common language defines as being “chemical” merely because it is synthesized in a laboratory. In many cases – the blog explains – these compounds are safer and more healthful than their counterparts found in nature.
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Eco Natural Lucart
Eco Natural Lucart is synonymous with ecological conscious choice that meets end-users appreciation as well as eco-friendly customers.
This innovative range of products, made from recycled cellulose fibers contained in beverage cartons, help to settle the waste disposal problem of this material that would otherwise end up in a rubbish dump.
By choosing Eco Natural Lucart, you can show a range of communication tools (stickers, posters, etc.), that declare your business environment-oriented and that looks sharply to the future.
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The solution for maintenance cleaning & sanitizing
Santoemma recently introduced the new Powertec system, especially designed for maintenance cleaning and sanitizing of small and medium-size restrooms. Two models are available: Powertec30 (cable powered) and Powertec30 Battery (battery powered), both belonging to Santoemma RESTROOM Cleaning and Sanitizing program.
The Powertec system consists in using a unique machine to spray all the surfaces with a chemical solution, rinse the surfaces after few minutes and vacuum all the residual liquid from floor, leaving the room clean, sanitized and dry.
Since the system uses a reduced quantity of water, it is the ideal solution for maintenance cleaning and sanitizing actions in those places which need a frequent service, such as: Shopping centres, supermarkets, Nursing homes, hospitals, Kindergarten, schools, universities, Fitness centres, gyms, Airports.
With Powertec system, restrooms can be completely cleaned, sanitized and left perfumed and dry in a short time, making the cleaning operations more pleasant and effective as well.
Using the machines is very easy and does not require any training for the operator.
Small and light, Powertec machines can be easily stored or carried from place to place.
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Come and Try It!
OMM introduces the new 500 BIG, a walk-behind semi-automatic scrubber, simple and powerful that, as always the philosophy of OMM Lavapavimenti, reduces the maintenance to the minimum.
500 BIG will surprise everyone for the great autonomy and the extraordinary recovery of the water while turning the machine.