Sterilex

Kesha Booth, Commercial Development Manager

Sterilex is a total food safety solution provider that is committed to providing solutions for pathogen control from farm to fork. Recently, Sterilex rounded out its dry sanitizer product portfolio with its addition of ProvaStride, an EPAregistered quat-free powder sanitizer.

Increasing Sustainability Initiatives with Water Savings

Developed using patent-pending technology, ProvaStride is a quat-free, non-food contact surface powder sanitizer formulated for disinfecting low-moisture, quat-sensitive environments. Both ProvaStride and Sterilex Ultra Step provide an extra layer of protection in entrances and on floors. Sterilex dry sanitizers help food manufacturing companies make great strides toward corporate sustainability goals by reducing water usage while minimizing microbial plate counts at critical control points in facilities.

ProvaStride reduces the risk of cross-contamination, preventing the recolonization of biofilm-related microorganisms and eliminating quat for facilities with wastewater restrictions. Its unique formulation contains sodium percarbonate and tetraacetylethylenediamine (TAED), which react with ambient moisture to release peroxide molecules.This reaction creates a peracetic acid (PAA) oxidizer that efficiently breaks down the outer molecular layer of biofilms, effectively killing microorganisms like Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli, Cronobacter sakazakii, and Listeria monocytogenes.

A compelling instance showcasing the capabilities of Sterilex is a meat processing plant that was unhappy with its traditional doorway foamer. It was ineffective, with frequent breakdowns and inconsistency in maintaining the optimum concentration ratio of foaming solution. It also created a wet and slippery environment.

Sterilex came to the rescue with its Sterilex Ultra Step dry sanitizer. The customer used Sterilex Ultra Step at the facility entrance. Sterilex Ultra Step is formulated to enhance traction and cling to the surfaces of boots, floors, and wheels sanitizing floor surfaces and effectively controlling entryway pathogens. By switching to Sterilex Ultra Step, the plant was able to reduce excessive chemical usage, ensure consistent coverage, and dramatically reduced its water usage–saving 50 gallons of water daily.

Sanitary design is a major hurdle in many older processing plants with many niches for biofilm to harbor and grow. If the biofilm is not completely removed, the biofilm and the organisms within it can begin repopulating in as little as 48 hours. Sterilex PerQuat technology breaks down and completely removes the biofilm structure. Sterilex PerQuat liquid products are total facility disinfectants that remove biofilms and kill pathogens found in biofilm on a variety of surfaces including equipment, floors, walls, drains, COP tanks and others.

“We are focused on finding novel technologies to bust the biofilm to kill the resistant bacteria and eradicate it off the surface before it repopulates itself,” says Kesha Booth, commercial development manager at Sterilex.

Originally funded by a grant from the U.S. Army, Sterilex has been leveraging its proficiency in developing universal decontamination solutions capable of removing biofilms and killing resistant microorganisms since 1989. Its broad spectrum of disinfectants and biofilm diagnostic tools used for food processing, animal health, and water treatment applications are EPA registered.

Building on its culture of innovation in biotechnology, Sterilex will continue to develop forward-thinking, safe, and cost-effective decontamination solutions that enhance the productivity of the industries it serves.