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A U.S. Department of Agriculture study on SmartWash Solutions’ Boost, a patent-pending treatment for iceberg and romaine lettuce before washing, shows the treatment is effective in killing E. coli.
Boost, which combines Pure BioScience’s Silver Dihydrogen Citrate technology and SmartWash Solution’s chemistry, effectively boosts the ability of established free chlorine washes to kill E. coli, according to a SmartWash news release.
"This tool provides the additional incremental lethality needed to drastically reduce the potential for foodborne illness when coupled with SmartWash Solutions’ industry-leading wash system’s cross contamination control,” Steven Swarts, director of business development, said in the release. “This is a huge win for companies seeking to prevent recalls, protect their brand and assure consumer trust and safety."
USDA-Agricultural Research Service scientists presented a poster on the research at the virtual 2020 International Association for Food Protection’s virtual meeting in late October. The study seeks to gauge the effectiveness of Boost and evaluate the quality and shelf-life of treated fresh-cut vegetables.
The boost control system can be added to standard wash systems, and is available to the industry. Research shows it can increase E. coli die-off by more than 0.7 log.
"We have spent hundreds of hours working in our pilot plant to design the best wash system for cut products,” Swarts said in the release. “We are excited to receive third-party results that reinforce our internal studies, proving significant incremental lethality in the process."
Technical details on the process and study are available:
USDA-ARS presentation at the International Association for Food Protection’s virtual meeting;
White paper regarding benefits of Acidic Silver Ion pretreatment; and
Presentation overviewing research modeling process.