Efficacy of a Food-Grade Mixture of Volatile Compounds to Reduce Salmonella Levels on Food Contact Surfaces

Introduction: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from an endophytic fungus, Muscodor crispans, have been shown to have antimicrobial activity against many fungal and bacterial species. These VOCs have been synthesized into a commercial mixture called “B-23,” which may be a useful surface sanitizer. All components in B-23 are Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) substances, making B-23 potentially useful as a food contact sanitizer. 

Purpose: This study determined if the sanitizing capability of B-23 is equivalent to commonly used sanitizers for reducing Salmonella contamination levels on food contact surfaces. 

Methods: Coupons of food contact material (stainless steel, PVC conveyor belt material, HDPE cutting board material, and HDPE tote plastic) were inoculated with a Salmonella cocktail either by spot-inoculation or by submerging the coupons in a Salmonella suspension and allowing cells to attach to the surfaces over a 48-h period. For each sample, a disposable wipe was saturated with a sanitizing solution (1% B-23, 200 ppm chlorine, 200 ppm quaternary ammonium compounds, or 200 ppm peracetic acid) and wiped across the surface of a coupon in a consistent manner using the swiper automated machine. Salmonella counts on the coupons before and after the treatments were compared to controls to determine the effectiveness of each sanitizer. 

Results: The effectiveness of using wipes with B-23 was similar to the other sanitizers in reducing Salmonella levels on all food contact surfaces (P>0.05).  Coupons that were spot inoculated with Salmonella and wiped with B-23 showed a larger reduction (~2.1 log) than coupons that had attached cells (~0.8 log).

Significance: Results showed that a 1% B-23 solution may have similar effectiveness as other common sanitizers when applied with a disposable wipe onto food contact surfaces contaminated with Salmonella. B-23 may be an alternative food-grade sanitizer for food contact surfaces since all of its components are GRAS substances.