Desinfect 0.0

Alcohol-free disinfectant for the food industry, as well as a testing procedure under real-world conditions (DIN EN 14885 Phase 3) and a corresponding application procedure for combined cleaning and alcohol-free disinfection

Machines and equipment that meet strict hygiene standards are a fundamental prerequisite for safe food production. However, the necessary cleaning and disinfection processes consume considerable amounts of water, chemicals, energy, and time, with alcohol-based agents predominantly used for chemical disinfection to date. Since the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is currently examining a possible classification of these substances as carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic for reproduction (CMR), and since glutaraldehyde (from 2026) and formaldehyde (from 2027) will be banned as biocidal active substances, the demand for alternative active substances is increasing. The aim of the project is therefore to develop an alcohol-free, aqueous disinfectant for the food industry, a corresponding application-oriented testing procedure in accordance with DIN EN 14885 Phase 3, and an application process for combined cleaning and alcohol-free disinfection.

The project is being carried out jointly by the Chair of Processing Machines/Processing Technology (VAT) at TU Dresden and Azett GmbH & Co. KG. Starting from an analysis of requirements in the food industry, Azett is developing a formulation based on the antimicrobial agent sodium benzoate in combination with citric acid. This base formulation has already been tested as a highly effective bactericidal surface disinfectant in accordance with DIN EN 14885 Phase 2 and is now being further developed specifically for use in the food industry as well as for the combined cleaning and disinfection procedure. At VAT, the corresponding testing procedure under real-world conditions in accordance with DIN EN 14885, as well as an application process for combined cleaning and alcohol-free disinfection, are being designed and validated. For this purpose, a pilot-scale cleaning test rig is used, in which product-contact surfaces made of stainless steel, elastomers, and thermoplastics are subjected to typical food-related soils as well as non-pathogenic test microorganisms. Cleaning progress is monitored with temporal resolution, and the disinfection efficacy is evaluated in comparison to an established reference product.

The outcome will be an alcohol-free alternative to established disinfectants as well as a practical testing procedure for demonstrating the efficacy of chemical disinfectants under conditions representative of the food industry.

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Project Funding

This project is funden under the Central Innovation Program for small and medium-sized enterprises (ZIM), a funding program of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy under funding code KK5017849ML4.

On behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the ZIM program is administered by: AiF Projekt GmbH // VDI/VDE/IT.

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