Food wash.

A best in British, revolutionary, plant-based hygiene for the food sector. Demonstrating that our clean technology allows us to use the food industry actually to cleanse itself, extending shelf life by at least 20%, and reducing waste on a global scale.

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Our technology has harnessed mother nature and produced a natural way of improving the food supply chain from field to consumer plate and, in doing so, is reducing environmental impact.

As the world’s only all-natural, long-lasting food processing agent, our solutions have proven, quantified benefits to the food industry from field to factory gates. Our food wash can be applied directly to food as an additive, is non-toxic, hypo-allergenic, non-mutagenic, non-tainting, non-carcinogenic and non-hazardous to humans.

We are familiar with the concept of a circular economy, where waste is kept to a minimum through recycling, design innovation, logistic improvement, and the use of replenishable energy. Derived from oranges, we’ve found a way to use food waste to better protect fresh food from ultimately becoming waste – creating our own food-based circular environment.

And this solution benefits the industry environmentally and economically, providing real-life advantages including health and wellbeing, process, and logistics.

Results show our product will have the biggest positive impact of any product in our sector in over a generation due to the slowed rate of decomposition that arises from the removal of bacteria, spores and yeasts following the application of our all-natural, long-lasting solution. There are also additional benefits from removing chlorine, for example, bringing efficiencies to the import/ export trade, which is easily mired in bureaucracy around different countries’ approaches to chemical treatment.

More about Bioshield Food Wash

A clear purpose.

Our decontamination wash is designed for:

Use all across the food industry
Increasing the shelf-life of fresh cut and open-structured produce
Improving the quality of produce at the retail level
Supplying produce to the consumer which tastes and looks good
Providing an approach which is both safe and environmentally sustainable
Utilising systems which are simple, effective and predominantly “organic”
Deploy natural methods to replace potassium sorbate in processed foods whilst enabling clean label status

Toxicity data.

Tests performed	Results
Acute oral toxicity	LD50 >5,000 mg/kg on live weight
Chronic toxicity (Acute oral with continuous feeding & reproduction study over 2 months)	LD50 2,250 mg/kg (rats)
Dermal toxicity	Not primary skin irritant, not corrosive
Carcinogenicity	Hep G liver and human RKO colon cells, both products non-carcinogenic
Mutagenicity tests	Liver and colon cells, both products non-mutagenic
Eye irritation	Full strength -severe irritation, slight corneal iris injury 1% and 5% solutions -irritation and moderate erythema
Inhalation	Closed chamber, 8 hrs/day, 5-day week, period 120 days No effects at concentrations of 150 mg/m3air
Human patch studies	1% and 5% solutions produced no irritation or skin sensitization

Toxicity comparison.

A comparison has been made to demonstrate the difference between our natural active compounds and synthetic quaternaries.

LC 50 measurement TM	Bioshield food wash	Benzalkonium chloride
in Hep. G liver cells	0.0025%	0.0006%
in RKO human colon cells	0.002%	0.0004%

Based on the above tests, Benzalkonium Chloride tested at equivalent cationic concentrations (25% w/w), is up to five times more toxic per concentration level, for the cells tested than the Bioshield food wash.

Benefits vs. chlorine.

Common disinfectant properties	Chlorine gas	Sodium or Calcium Hypochlorite	Chlorine dioxide	Bioshield food wash
Disinfection action	high	high	high better than chlorine	High as good as Chlorine dioxide
Specificity	Generally effective, including, viruses; reference sanitizer. Limited practical effect on parasitic spores (i.e. Crytosporidium). Oxidizer and metabolic poison.	Generally effective, including viruses; reference sanitizer. Limited practical effect on parasitic spores (i.e. Crytosporidium). Oxidizer and metabolic poison.	Generally effective. Recognized for biofilm penetration. Oxidizer.	Highly effective against viruses, gram+ and gram-bacteria, yeasts, moulds, fungi and sporicidal activity
Speed	fastest	fastest	fast acting	fast acting
Stability	good	Powder=good, liquid=fair	good	excellent
Preparation	easy	easy	Complex equipment	easy – user friendly
Measurement	Easy. Functional relation to redox potential (ORP)	Easy. Functional relation to redox potential (ORP)	Difficult. Moderately functional relation to redox potential (ORP).	Easy & user friendly
Stability	Good	Good	Moderate	Excellent
Irritancy	Low	Low	Very irritating vapours	NA non-irritant
Vapours	None at correct pH	None at correct pH	Typical odour, dangerous	NA non-volatile
pH impact	Most active at pH 6-7.5	Most active at pH 6-7.5	Most active at pH 8.5	Most active at pH 3-4 (weakly dissociated)
Temperature	For produce, generally cold water, but heated water up to 52 degrees in use	For produce, generally cold water, but heated water up to 52 degrees in use	Use at low temp to minimize vaporization. Some use of gaseous forms on produce.	Effective at all temperatures up to 100degrees
Conc.	25 to 200ppm	25 to 200ppm, 20,000ppm limited approval for sprout seed disinfection	3 to 5ppm	2% w/w
Penetration	Poor	Poor	Poor	Excellent
Hard water	Activity decreases in very hard water >500ppm	Activity decreases in very hard water >500ppm	No effect	No effect
Organic matter	Reacts to from chloramines	Reacts to from chloramines	Little influence, even at high organic load	Effective in the presence of organic matte
Solution corrosiveness	Slight to moderate	Slight to moderate	Very corrosive at low pH	NA non-corrosive
Corrosive off- gassing	Possible, through condensation	Possible, through condensation	Slight corrosion	NA non-volatile
Other	Very corrosive below pH 6	Very corrosive below pH 6	Vapor space corrosion with high temp	Non-tainting, non-mutagenic, non-carcinogenic, Hypoallergenic
Best use	Food contact surfaces, water disinfection, smooth produce surfaces	Food contact surfaces, water disinfection, smooth produce surfaces	High organic load situations, smooth or complex produce surfaces, flume water disinfection	Fresh produce decontamination, food contact surfaces (anywhere where rinsing is not required)
Disadvantages	Requires tight pH and concentration control, highly corrosive when improperly used	Requires tight pH and concentration control, highly corrosive when improperly used	Complex preparation, corrosive in acid solution, very difficult to handle unless preparation is automated.	None

Decontamination process.

Key uses: pre/post harvest.

Description	Use
All crops (fruits, vegetables, cereals…). Complies with EC2092/91 organic farming regulation.	Recommended dilution: approx. 0.075%
Decontaminant for soft fruits and open structured vegetables. Complies with EC2092/91 organic regulation.	To be used in dip bath or as a spray at recommended dilution: approx. 0.5%
Decontaminant for skinned and non-porous fruits. Particularly recommended where organic residues and biofilm are a problem.	To be used in dip bath at recommended dilution of approx. 1% – 2%.

Case summaries.

The following case summaries include testing information around various food types, including potatoes, apples, shrimp and the Greek yoghurt-based salad Tzatziki.

Reducing acute mortality in aquatic crustaceans using natural alternatives (Bioshield food wash) to antibiotics has become a necessity, firstly for its positive impact on the aquaculture industry and, secondly, because the extensive use of antibiotics may lead to increased levels of drug resistance in pathogenic microorganisms.
We show for the first time that a natural antimicrobial can significantly reduce the mortality of shrimps in a challenge experiment and is able to significantly attenuate H2 O2 release during infection (p less 0.001) indicating that it could harbour positive intestinal redox balance effects.

Microorganisms 2019, 7, 679, doi:10.3390/microorganisms7120679 Laurette Pinkerton.

Reduce infection where the product (5001 Aurenta Harvest nee Citrox from Bioshield) was used (group 6), a marked difference was noted in the product’s ability to reduce the spread of infection, but not stop it. As a preliminary study and based in a laboratory environment, this suggests that the product 5001 Auranta harvest nee Citrox from Bioshield may have benefits to reduce infection in already infected plants.

A.K. Dean, BSc (Hons), MSc, MPhil, LL.M, MA, DBA. Spartan Nano 17/05/15.

Please refer to Appendix 3: Citrox from Bioshield Test EIP 17-05-2105 Potato Blight Foliage.pdf

Kills Pathogens. The ingredients are from plant (citrus green extract) combined with citric acid and polyphenols (bioflavonoids) all complying with the requirements of European regulation 2092/91 and EC Directive 89/107/EEC. Citrox from Bioshield conforms to organic farming, is manufactured from completely renewable sources, is effective in the presence of organic matter, breaks down biofilm, (2022 major water companies, university research and scientific programme commenced Chlorine v Citrox from Bioshield).

Citrox from Bioshield extends shelf life and reduces pathogenic attack, can be applied directly to food as an additive, is non-toxic, hypo-allergenic, non-mutagenic, non-tainting, non-carcinogenic, non-hazardous to humans (inhalation and skin contact).

Finally, it conforms to BS 1276 (European Suspension Test) giving a guaranteed 5 log reduction. This test requires that the product is effective at pathogen loading levels of up to 10 7, and to give 5-log reductions from this high level of initial contamination.

The risk of undesirable by-products from chlorine disinfection in fresh-cut industries, together with its limited efficacy, has led to a search for alternative agents. No cells of any of the pathogens were detected in Citrox from Bioshield solutions after apple treatment.

A contact must occur between the microorganism and the sanitizer in order to kill them (Gomez-Lopez et al.,2008), prewash or peel wash should be considered or electrostatic misting.

Postharvest Biology and Technology, 59, (2011) 289-297 Maribel Abadias, Elsevier.

Multi Beneficial TC2 (2ml/kg) yielded the lowest yeast counts, irrespective of temperature, resulting in approximately 2 (4°C) and 3 (10° C) log reductions on the final day of storage (70 and 30 days respectively). At the concentrations used, Citrox from Bioshield had no negative sensorial effect on the Tzatziki salad.
The results indicate that Citrox from Bioshield (at 1 and 2ml/kg) is effective from a safety standpoint, for reducing Bacillus and salmonella spp. In Tzatziki. In addition, 2% Citrox from Bioshield also showed a higher inhibitory effect against B. Cereus and S. enterica grown in TSB tan 1% Citrox from Bioshield. Maria I. Tsiraki, 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
Citrox from Bioshield, especially at 2 ml/kg, had a significant effect on the survival of Bacillus Cereus. Salmonella Enterica showed major declines in all untreated Tzatziki samples from day 0-70 (4°) and from day 0-30 (10°), with averages of 2.5 and 2.8 log cfu/g, respectively.
The shelf life of Citrox from Bioshield treated Tzatziki was extended by +10 days under aerobic or vacuum, as compared to the control sample (Elsevier Food Chemistry 142 (2014) 416-422

Odour issue resolved/ Saved Water. When used to peel and clean potatoes, for example in trials with a global leader in potato processing, the TVC of 30,000 ppm reduced to less than 0.005 ppm on the prewash/peeling stage. The water change of 6/8 hours, was able to extend to 18+ hours.

Amended solution and application. Citrox Wash from Bioshield supports the circular environment. Concerns on the residue being negatively affected on the following anaerobic digestion system were tested and proved to be unfounded at the low 2% dilution levels. Citrox wash has a Ph level 3.5. The anaerobic digestion or aerobic both require much higher Ph levels to successfully operate.

Extended shelf life (Citrox) S.F Mexis, Food Science and Technology xxx (2012) 1-7
On day 6 of storage TVC was reduced by 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 log cfu/g by the citrus extract (o.2ml/100g), the O2 absorber and the combination of the O2 absorber plus citrus extract (0.2ml/100g), respectively (p <0.05), initial pH (6.38) showed an increase (6.73) or decrease (5.83) depending on specific treatment. TVB-N ranged between 42.5 and 57.5mg/kg at the time of sensory rejection. Colour parameters remained unaffected in samples containing the O2 absorber and or the citrus extract.

A 4-5 days product shelf life extension using the combination of O2 absorber and citrus extract (Citrox) (0.1ml/100g) as compared to control samples was achieved.

Technical Report On the Performance Citrox 14W treatment in shelf life performance of Tuna Fillets R.D.O. Connor, Microsearch Laboratories ltd
Our data indicates that Tuna fillets treated by immersion in 2% 14 W Citrox at 8°c consistently produced an aerobic colony count on average 1.5 log cycles below comparative samples which had been immersed in water for the same period.

It is apparent from our data that 14W Citrox dosing retards the point at which one would expect to see microbiological deterioration.

This advantage would appear to be a 48 hour gain in life under the abuse conditions specified for the trial. Presumably under correct cold chain conditions this time advantage might be more extensive.

Related to this model our data shows a significant difference in the levels of Histamine produced during the last three days of the trial. In the case on none treated materials Histamine begins to exponentiate at day 6 reaching a level of 11.1mg/100grams on day 8. Comparatively the rate and level of increase for the same period is on average 59% lower for 14W Citrox treated samples.

Shelf life Extended on Salads and sandwiches
Tzatziki conclusion Maria I. Tsiraki, Food Chemistry 142 (2014)
Irrespective of the packaging conditions and treatments, yeasts populations of approximately 4.0-6.5 log cfu/g were recorded in the microflora of the salad, whereas the Pseudomonas spp. populations were lower (2-3 log cfu/g). Based primarily on sensory evaluations, the combined use of citrus extract with natamycin under aerobic and vacuum packaging conditions extended the shelf-life of Tzatziki salad stored at (4°C) by ca.>10 (AC, ACN treatments) and 5-6 days (VN, VC, VCN treatments) compared to aerobic and CP with Tzatziki salad maintaining good sensory characteristics. This study, in combination with the current, limited knowledge on the potential use of citrus extract or natamycin as ‘natural’ preservatives in RTE salads, leads to the general conclusion that citrus extract, natamycin and their combination with packaging tested here may provide a suitable alternative to conventional (toxic) preservatives (e.g. sorbate) by delaying the growth of spoilage micro-organisms (mainly yeasts) allowing growth of the added culture (lactic acid bacteria) in the deli salads, extending its shelf-life and creating a pleasant or even a more appealing product to the consumer.

The shelf life of Citrox from Bioshield treated Tzatziki was extended by +10 days under aerobic or vacuum, as compared to the control sample (Elsevier Food Chemistry 142 (2014) 416-422

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