Food Safety & Clean Water Technologies
Food Safety & Clean Water Technologies
Foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli are a constant concern among food producers and distributors. Raw and incompletely composted manure can transport these pathogens onto fresh produce, while handlers and animals can contaminate produce with a variety of other pathogens.
The Food and Drug Administration provides industry guidelines to meet required standards for minimizing microbial food safety. For those in the produce industry, the challenge is to easily reach these standards without expending a significant amount of time and resources.
EcoloxTech has developed a 100 percent safe and reliable no rinse produce sanitizer through the use of Electrolyzed Oxidizing Water. Cleared by the FDA for no-rinse sanitation of produce if generated from EcoloxTech systems, electrolyzed oxidizing water saves time and water use in sanitizing produce, leaving no harmful residues, alterations in taste, odors, or discolorations.
No potable water rinse is required after using electrolyzed oxidizing water. The USDA has also approved its use for organic produce handling and production.
“We can wash our product, and it doesn’t harm the product because its salt based. “ said Dinesh Ragbir, owner of Healthy Organics, a certified organic produce company in Vero Beach, Florida. “We’re happy using it. It washes and sanitizes. It’s an easy system for us to use.”
Using just table salt, water and electricity, electrolyzed oxidizing water kills bacteria, bacterial spores, and viruses 100 times more effectively than chlorine bleach. Studies have proven electrolyzed oxidizing water to be highly effective in killing E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella enteritidis, Listeria monocytogenes, and spore-forming bacteria. The electricity induces a chemical reaction in the salt water to create a powerful oxidant solution. EcoloxTech has perfected this reaction to identify optimal formulas and settings of voltage, amperage, and flow rates.
EcoloxTech is a US-based company founded by Morten Larsen, a Marine Engineer who used to advise the White House on advancing environmentally friendly technologies and previously served as an engineer for the United Nations in Africa, and Dr. Scott Hartnett, a graduate of Nova Southeastern University School of Medicine who has worked as a physician and surgeon in the Mercy Health System in Philadelphia and specialized in minimally invasive surgery at the University of Miami Hospital. Larsen currently serves as CEO of EcoloxTech, while Dr. Hartnett serves as Chief Medical Officer.
Other produce sanitizing agents, like chlorine bleach, come in concentrated form, are irritant to eyes and skin and must be prepared using personal protective gear. Electrolyzed oxidizing water is safe, non-irritant and is generated on-site with EcoloxTech systems, therefore eliminating the need for purchasing, storing, transporting, preparing, and disposing of toxic chemicals. Sanitation of produce using EcoloxTech electrolyzed oxidizing water does not require a potable water post-rinse as is required when using chlorine bleach.
Electrolyzed Oxidizing Water is a green, sustainable alternative to add to small and large-scale produce washers and can be used by greenhouse growers to safely reduce biofilm and pathogens in irrigation systems. Despite being more effective than alternative sanitizing agents, its non-toxic, non-irritant, and requires no safety or protective equipment to use.