Features Production Research
United States FDA clears Selectrocide®

Food processors in the U.S. have a
more convenient means of protecting cut produce against foodborne
pathogens and food spoilage organisms with the recent U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of Selectrocide®.

Food processors in the U.S. have a more convenient means of protecting cut produce against foodborne pathogens and food spoilage organisms with the recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of Selectrocide®. Under the clearance, the chlorine dioxide solution can now be used on cut produce without a post-application water rinse. Food treated with anti-microbial substances often had to be rinsed with water in order to remove potentially harmful chemicals, even though this post-treatment “potable water rinse” could re-introduce harmful microbes to food. Selectrocide’s 99 per cent pure chloride remains a true gas in aqueous solution and can achieve its immediate technical effect on the surface of foods at comparatively low concentrations. Chlorine dioxide from the Selectrocide A-10 and A-15 products allegedly provide other benefits to food and poultry processors, including:
• Increased shelf life for processed fruits and vegetables.
• Sensory characteristics of fruit, vegetables and poultry maintained
  after treatment.
• User-friendliness – requires little training to generate and administer.
• Compatible with stainless steel (and other non-porous materials) at
  recommended application strengths.
• Not considered a “skin sensitizer” at recommended application strengths.
• Contains no byproducts at levels of concern – 99 per cent-pure chlorine dioxide upon activation.
• Convenient packaging (low volume and weight) offers high yield – a nine inch by nine inch box contains the equivalent of 6,400 gallons of wash solution.