Direct application antimicrobial for produce and meat under development

PURE Bioscience is testing antimicrobial formulations that can be used as a rinse or processing aid on produce, poultry and meats. The US-based company has already patented the antimicrobial silver dihydrogen citrate (SDC).

PURE expects to make submissions for authorisation to the FDA and USDA in the second quarter of 2014. It is working with Dr James Marsden, from Kansas State University, on the testing and preparation of the submissions.

In extensive testing as a disinfectant for food-contact surfaces in food processing plants and restaurants, PURE’s SDC-based antimicrobial, PURE Hard Surface, has demonstrated superior effectiveness in breadth and speed of pathogen kill, and therefore the reduction of food safety risk. The product also provides 24-hour residual kill and has a favourable safety profile.

In developing a direct food application, PURE’s expectations are that, because of SDC’s properties, modes of action and non-toxicity, SDC could revolutionise the industry by proving to have superior efficacy to interventions and processing aids currently in the market.

A critical issue for the food industry is the growing number of product recalls and foodborne illness outbreaks due to the presence of pathogens like Salmonella and E. coli, especially in produce and poultry. In addition, there is growing evidence that these bacteria can build up a resistance to many antimicrobials in use on food products today. Based on experience to date, bacteria have not been able to build up a resistance to PURE’s SDC. PURE estimates that, in the US, the potential market for direct food-contact antimicrobials is in excess of $1.0 billion.