UVGI solutions for the Food Industry
Unsafe food causes many acute and life-long diseases, ranging from diarrhoeal diseases to various forms of cancer. WHO estimates that food borne and water borne diseases, taken together, kill about 2.2 million people annually. According to the Food Standards Agency, about one in 60 people suffer from food poisoning in England and Wales every year.
Some bacteria cause extremely dangerous forms of food poisoning. Clostridium botulinum, for example, causes the deadly disease botulism, and some strains of E. coli bacteria such as E. coli 0157 cause severe food poisoning that can bring on kidney failure.
Article 14 of the General Food Law Regulation (EC) 178/2002 states that food shall not be placed on the market if it is unsafe. Food is deemed to be unsafe if it is considered to be:
- injurious to health
- unfit for human consumption
Regular use of disinfection techniques will reduce the number of microorganisms in production areas and improve the quality and safety of the food being produced.
There are a number of processes manufacturers can use such as chemical fogging, hydrogen peroxide vapour (HPV) and ozone. Although all of these can be used in rooms, they cannot be used where dry food and dry ingredients are present for obvious reasons.
Gamma radiation may be used to treat dry foods but that fact must be stated on the food labelling, potentially leading to loss of sales through public non-acceptance of the process. UVGI is ideal for disinfection in the dry food process.
How we can help
A comprehensive range of solutions to reduce infection is available from IML:
- Air UVGI disinfection units to cut down the risk of airborne transmission
- UVGI disinfection units for HVAC and ductwork to cut down the risk of airborne transmission