Every day, food-contact surfaces are contaminated by microbes that are spread by human contact and food residues. Sure, there are measures are in place to regulate and control the contamination of food service products and transport equipment, but many of these visibly clean surfaces are still susceptible to microbial growth and survival. At Microban®, it’s our goal to redefine ‘clean’ in the food service industry with our proactive antimicrobial products.
How Can Food Service Companies Reduce the Risk of Contamination?
If you work in the food service or food transport industry, you know how big the risks and consequences are if you are not protected from contamination, spoilage organisms, or foodborne pathogens. Most always, foodborne spoilages result in a total loss for companies.
Because it is also our goal to redefine clean, Microban has custom engineered antimicrobial products that are manufactured into our partner’s products to control the growth of foodborne pathogens that can cause spoilage or, contamination.
How Do Antimicrobial Products Work with Current Industry Regulations?
Back in 2011, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was established to reform of food safety laws to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe and to lessen chances for product contamination, consumer infections, and recalls.
In support of the regulations put in place by the FDA, our antimicrobial products are an example of using technology to add another level of cleanliness protection to products as part of a systems approach to helping our partners create a cleaner environment for food storage and transport.
What Antimicrobial Products Combat Foodborne Illnesses & Contamination?
Whether or not you are a professional in the food service industry, you have heard about the bacteria called Listeria monocytogenes (Lm), more commonly called Listeria. By current estimates the bacterial pathogen, Listeria:
- Has caused over 1,600 illnesses
- Is responsible for more than 1,500 hospitalizations
- Has resulted in 260 related deaths each year in the US alone
- Has a 20-40% mortality rate at early onset
Given the statistics above, there is some bad news and some good news for the food service and transport industry. (Spoiler alert: the good news outweighs the bad).
The bad news?
Pathogens like Listeria are not going anywhere. Unlike some bacteria which dies at refrigeration temperatures of about 4°C, Listeria thrives at a typical refrigeration temperature, and is an ever-present problem in commercial refrigerators and refrigerator shelving.
The good news?
Because we continue to find new ways to redefine clean, our engineers have created antimicrobial products, like Microban SilverShield®, to reduce and control Listeria contamination in the food service industry.
In a research study, scientists evaluated the efficacy and ability of Microban SilverShield® technology in controlling contamination on refrigerator shelving in a commercial refrigerator operating at 4°C.
The study confirmed that Microban SilverShield® technology, when integrated as a customized antimicrobial solution, is effective in limiting the survival and growth of Listeria, which was exactly the kind of “good news” our partner in this endeavor was looking for.
How Do Microban Food Service and Transport Partners Use Antimicrobial Products?
Our antimicrobial products have served partners in the food service industry, including:
Great Dane partnered with us to manufacture an antimicrobial technology into the liners of their refrigerated trailers to provide 24/7 product protection. The additional layer of protection lasts for the entire life of the liner and positions Great Dane as a leader in providing innovative solutions to meet the needs of the industry.
To learn more about the benefits of antimicrobial protection, visit our whitepaper, "Reasons to Integrate Antimicrobials in Food Service Products & Equipment". If you are interested in how our antimicrobial products can protect your products, reach out to us today.