Effect of surface properties of different food contact materials on the efficiency of quaternary ammonium compounds residue recovery and persistence

Abstract

Summary Residues of quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) remaining after sanitising were evaluated for a number of materials used in food plants. The residues were collected by swabs and measured using a spectrophotometric method. Surface topography and energy affected the QACs recovery. Highest percentage of QACs recovery was achieved for the tile material (102.2%) which had the most hydrophilic properties and least irregularities in surface topology, followed by stainless steel (82.1%). Meanwhile, the lowest recovery occurred in PVC (42.1%) and resin (44.3%) that exhibited hydrophobic characteristics and abrupt changes in height profile in a given surface area. Monitoring of QACs residues deposited on the surfaces after 7 days showed that the recovery of QACs in PVC and resin reduced significantly (P < 0.05), supposing that QACs might be degraded or interacted with the materials. However, no significant changes in residue recovery were observed for tiles and stainless steel surfaces after 7 days.

Bactericidal Efficacy of Hydrogen Peroxide‐Based Disinfectants Against Gram‐Positive and Gram‐Negative Bacteria on Stainless Steel Surfaces

“…That is the situation of some very common chemicals with high levels of residues after their use, requiring new disinfectant formulations with low residual levels as hydrogen peroxide. In this sense, the residue levels of disinfectants as quaternary ammonium compounds after their use, is a current subject of interest, with the aim to ensure that their chemical residues do not contact or contaminate organic products or the environment (Mousavi and others ; European Union ).…”

Examining the efficacy of mushroom industry biocides on Listeria monocytogenes biofilm

“…Previous studies have shown that QACs can leave residues on surfaces and that exposure to these low levels of QACs can result in increased resistance of L. monocytogenes (Carpentier and Cerf 1993; Kastbjerg and Gram 2012; Mousavi et al . 2013; Rodríguez‐Melcón et al . 2018).…”

Surface Energy of Food Contact Materials and Its Relation to Wheat Dough Adhesion

“…The analyzed bakery surfaces differ greatly in the total surface free energy; the values for the examined materials are ranged between 5.5 ± 0.81 and 42.7 ± 0.88 mN/m. Values of the surface free energy of similar food contact materials of other scientific studies are in a related range (Bhandari & Howes, 2005;Lewin et al, 2005;Güleç et al, 2006;Keijbets et al, 2009;Hejda et al, 2010;Williams & O'Bryon, 2013;Mousavi et al, 2013;Ghorbel & Launay, 2014;Magens et al, 2017;Avila-Sierra et al, 2019). Common materials for process equipment in the production of food and transportation are stainless steel or plastic-coated conveyor belts, which have high surface energy values.…”