By Morten Larsen, CEO & Founder of EcoloxTech and Francine L. Shaw, food safety specialist, Founder of Savvy Food Safety, and author of “Who Watches the Kitchen?”
Restaurant staff are facing multiple, simultaneous safety challenges that may threaten their guests, employees, foods, and businesses:
- COVID, influenza, and RSV cases are on the rise. In fact, COVID is currently being categorized as a “high” or “very high” outbreak in many areas, with high levels of transmission expected for at least another month or more.
- Highly contagious norovirus outbreaks are more common in colder winter months and are frequently linked to restaurants and other foodservice settings. As we saw in the infamous Chipotle foodborne illness outbreaks years ago, these outbreaks can sometimes be traced to infected workers who may not follow proper handwashing protocols and spread the pathogens via surfaces, equipment, and food to colleagues and customers.
- Ongoing labor shortages mean many restaurants continue to be short-staffed. Unfortunately, busy, understaffed restaurant teams may occasionally take short-cuts to try and save time. If employees skip important steps in safety and quality protocols – like failing to properly wash produce, equipment, or surfaces – it could lead to increased cross-contamination risks and potentially damaging food safety breaches.
- Tainted cantaloupe made headlines for sickening (and even killing) consumers late last year, but that wasn’t the only produce involved in a major recall. Around the same time, peaches and plums were also recalled due to possible contamination. Fresh produce has been linked to more foodborne illnesses than any other food variety.
Restaurant brands must use every tool at their disposal to mitigate these risks and protect their customers, employees, foods, and businesses. Restaurant employees should always follow the strictest protocols and procedures to maximize safety, quality, and compliance – even on their busiest days.
One of the most important protocols to consistently follow is proper cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting of foods, surfaces, and equipment to help reduce or eliminate harmful pathogens. But did you know that some traditional sanitizers and disinfectants are inefficient – unable to kill certain pathogens including MRSA – and might even be harmful to employees and the environment?
A better way to disinfect and sanitize
Now, many restaurants and other organizations within the foodservice industry are relying on a new – better! – solution to disinfect and sanitize their surfaces, equipment, and foods. Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) – a safe, highly effective sanitizer and disinfectant – can help restaurants and other food businesses elevate their safety efforts and combat these critical challenges.
HOCI allows businesses to sanitize and disinfect effectively, sustainably, and responsibly. It’s non-toxic and chemical-free, yet more powerful than bleach. It’s eco-friendly, yet proven to kill even the toughest pathogens, including MRSA. It’s safe for humans, food, and the environment. And HOCI is also compliant with CDC, FDA, and EPA regulations, so businesses can feel comfortable and confident using it, knowing that it meets the US governing bodies’ stringent safety and quality guidelines.
Increasingly, foodservice brands are relying on HOCI to keep their foods, customers, employees, and businesses safer. In fact, HOCI is becoming more widely known (and used) in a variety of industries – including foodservice, hospitality, healthcare, travel and tourism, and more – because of its proven effectiveness in killing bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens.
HOCI offers many significant and valuable benefits. It is:
- Highly effective. HOCl is 80-100x more potent than bleach and extremely effective at killing harmful pathogens, including some (like MRSA) that may be resistant to traditional sanitizers. HOCI has been proven to kill common foodborne pathogens like E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria, as well as MRSA, COVID, influenza, RSV, and norovirus. Disinfecting and sanitizing foods and surfaces with HOCI can help prevent the spread of these pathogens.
- Safe, chemical-free, and eco-friendly. HOCl is non-toxic, chemical-free, and safe to use on surfaces, equipment, and food. While other sanitizers may leave harmful residues, HOCl breaks down into simple saltwater after use, posing no risk to consumers, employees, or the environment. These products allow organizations to maintain the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene while minimizing the impact on the planet. Because HOCl is non-toxic, it eliminates the risks for respiratory issues, unlike other sanitizers, like ozone, which can be hazardous to human health if inhaled in significant quantities.
- Versatile, efficient, and easy to handle. HOCl is odorless and tasteless, and can be used in various applications on food, surfaces, and equipment. HOCI can be used as a dip wash, spray, and fog, and is generally safer and easier to handle than other types of sanitizers and disinfectants. While there’s no specialized equipment required, reputable manufacturers and proper training are essential. Also, HOCI has a longer shelf life than other types of sanitizers. Since HOCI is rinse-free, it saves time, effort, and water – a significant advantage for food businesses, where speed and efficiency are crucial.
- Odorless and tasteless. HOCl doesn’t leave any odor or taste behind, which is essential for maintaining the quality and sensory characteristics of foods.
- An effective “kill step” to help eliminate microbial risks on produce. This is an important differentiator for HOCI as a sanitizer and disinfectant, especially with all the recent foodborne illness outbreaks associated with produce. Pre-washing and sanitizing produce with HOCl helps get rid of dirt, feces, and other contaminants. To help minimize microbial risks associated with produce before consumption, implement a “kill step” using HOCI to help eliminate microbial pathogens attached to the produce or in the wash water, thereby averting cross-contamination prior to preparation and serving. This can help prevent future outbreaks associated with contaminated produce.
Expect to see HOCI become more widely used in the food industry – among other sectors – because of its safety, effectiveness, sustainability, and its compliance with CDC, FDA, and EPA regulations. Moving forward, HOCI is expected to gain a more significant following, as more people recognize its tremendous benefits and ability to dramatically elevate their food safety efforts.
Morten Larsen is CEO & Founder of EcoloxTech, which is leading the way in eco-friendly disinfection solutions, uniquely using Hypochlorous acid (HOCl), a naturally occurring, eco-friendly disinfectant that has gained recognition for its proven effectiveness in killing bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens, including MRSA, E. coli, COVID, Influenza, and Norovirus. EcoloxTech products are effective against 99.99% of all pathogens and 80-100 times more effective than bleach, yet are non-toxic, sustainable, and safe for humans, pets, and the environment. EcoloxTech products are being successfully used in hospitals, foodservice, cruise ships, and more. For more information, please visit https://EcoloxTech.com.
Francine L. Shaw is a food safety specialist, podcaster, founder of Savvy Food Safety, author of “Who Watches the Kitchen?”, and a successful entrepreneur, and speaker who spent 30+ years working in the foodservice industry. Her career has included performing services (operating partner, corporate/private trainer, health inspector, third party inspector, adjunct professor) in various sectors of the foodservice industry. She has written hundreds of articles for national trade magazines and appeared on Dr. Oz, the BBC World Series Radio, and iHeart Radio as a food safety expert.