The fungicidal efficacy of various commercial disinfectants used in the food industry

Abstract

The antifungal effects of eight commercial disinfectants namely alcohol, peracetic acid, iodophors, aldehydes, quaternary amine compounds (QAC, a, b and c), and a chlorine-based agent were assessed at different concentrations. The time taken for these disinfectants to kill different microorganisms was used to assess their efficacy. The microorganisms tested were six yeasts, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces uvarum, Kloeckera apiculata, Candida oleophila, Metschnikowia fructicola, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and two moulds, Aspergillus niger (5 strains) and Penicillium roqueforti (5 strains). The disinfectants QAC (a) and QAC (c) were the most effective against all the microorganisms tested. The chlorine-based disinfectant worked most efficiently against the moulds at all concentrations used (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0%). Peracetic acid and alcohol based disinfectants were most effective against the yeasts than mould. Tested yeasts were more resistant to the aldehyde and iodophors base disinfectants than the others.

Emergence of resistance to antibacterial agents: the role of quaternary ammonium compounds—a critical review

“…and Serratia marcescens, have exhibited high intrinsic resistance and survival after exposure to QACs [124][125][126][127]. Food-associated moulds and yeasts exhibit variable resistance among species and among strains within species; some isolates were resistant to typical QAC concentrations [128,129].…”

Diversity and Control of Spoilage Fungi in Dairy Products: An Update

“…Nonetheless, fungal response to such cleaning agents varies with disinfectant type and concentration. For example, Korukluoglu et al [ 86 ] showed that Aspergillus niger was sensitive to alcohol but not to peracetic acid; moreover, A. niger was resistant to 0.5% iodophor but sensitive at 1%. In addition, Bundgaard-Nielsen and Nielsen (1995) demonstrated the existence of intraspecific variation in tolerance to quaternary ammonium compounds, especially in P. commune and Penicillium nalgiovense [ 87 ].…”

Effective Fungal Spore Inactivation with an Environmentally Friendly Approach Based on Atmospheric Pressure Air Plasma

“…9 Current approaches to avoid mold contamination usually involve the use of groups of chemicals such as fungicides and disinfectants, where disinfectants are typically alcohol-, peracetic acid-, iodophors-, aldehydes-, chlorine-, peroxygen-based, or a mixture of these chemicals. 10 For instance, a recently introduced and widely used liquid disinfectant known as Virkon is composed of a combination of oxone, sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate and sulfamic acid plus various inorganic buffers. As a classical antimicrobial agent, it has a wide spectrum of disinfection activity, including effectiveness against fungal species.…”