Compositions and methods of treating edible matter and substrates therefor
There are provided methods of treating edible matter comprising applying a composition comprising performic acid to the edible matter or a substrate therefor. Other embodiments are also disclosed.
1. A method for protecting edible matter from decay, comprising contacting edible matter or a substrate therefor with a composition comprising:
(1) water,
(2) at least one of: (a) phosphonic acid (HP(O)(OH) 2 ) or a salt thereof and (b) phosphoric acid,
(3) a carboxylic acid,
(4) a surfactant,
(5) at least one of: (i) a performic acid source and (ii) an oxidizer which can oxidize said performic acid source to performic acid, and
(6) performic acid
said contacting being
(i) for a time and
(ii) in an amount of composition and/or at a concentration of composition sufficient to protect said edible matter from said decay, wherein the composition is such that at a concentration of 20 ppm performic acid and a contact time of up to one minute at room temperature, the composition achieves a 10000-fold (4 log) reduction in the cfu of a pathogen grown on a designed growth medium, wherein the pathogen is at least one of the pathogens in the group consisting of Escherichia coli (ATCC 8739), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027), Enterococcus hirae (ATCC 10541), Candida albicans (ATCC 10231), Aspergillus niger (ATCC 16404), Listeria monocytogenes (ATCC 19115) and Penecillium w.t. (wild type).
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said method comprises contacting edible matter with said composition.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said method comprises contacting a substrate for said edible matter with said composition.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein with a one-minute contact time the composition meets or exceeds at least one of the following Standards: BS EN 1276:1997, BS EN 1650:1998, BS EN 13697:2001, BS EN 1276:2009.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the composition achieves a 100000-fold (5 log) reduction in the cfu of a pathogen grown on a designed growth medium within one minute at 20° C. under dirty conditions of 3.0 g/l bovine albumin, wherein the pathogen is one or more of the reference strains Listeria monocytogenes (ATCC 19115), (ATCC 8739), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Pseudonionas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027) and Enterococcus hirae (ATCC 10541).
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the composition exceeds at least one of (a) Standard BS EN 1650:1998 and (b) BS EN 13697:2001.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the composition possesses fungicidal activity within one minute at 20° C. under dirty conditions of 3.0 g/l bovine albumin for one or more of the reference strains Candida albicans, Aspergillus brasiliensis ( Aspegillus niger ), and Penicillium w.t.
8. The method of claim 3 wherein the carboxylic acid contains from 2 to 7 carbon atoms.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the carboxylic acid is selected from the group consisting of citric acid, propionic acid, lactic acid, salicylic acid, benzoic acid, glyceiic acid, oxalic acid, tartaric acid, acetic acid, chloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, and trifluoroacetic acid.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein the carboxylic acid is selected from the group consisting of citric acid, lactic acid, propionic acid and mixtures thereof.
11. The method according to claim 3 wherein the concentration of performic acid in said composition decreases by not more than 1% over 6 months at a temperature at or below 20° C.
12. The method of claim 3 , wherein, if hydrogen peroxide is present in the composition, the ratio of performic acid to hydrogen peroxide is less than 4:1.
13. The method of claim 3 , wherein the composition does not contain both alkyl ester peroxycarboxylic acid and a C 2 or higher alcohol.
14. The method of claim 4 wherein the composition exceeds at least one of Standard BS EN 1276:1997 and BS EN 1276:2009.
15. The method of claim 5 wherein the composition processes bactericidal activity within one minute at 20° C. under dirty conditions of 3.0 g/l bovine albumin for the reference strains E. coli (ATCC 8739), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027) and Enterococcus hirae (ATCC 10541).
16. The method of claim 4 wherein the composition has bactericidal activity against gram-positive bacteria.
17. The method of claim 4 wherein the composition has bactericidal activity against gram-negative bacteria.
18. The method of claim 3 wherein the concentration of said performic acid is from 1 ppb to 1000 ppm.
19. The method of claim 2 wherein with a one-minute contact time the composition meets or exceeds at least one of the following Standards: BS EN 1276:1997, BS EN 1650:1998, BS EN 13697:2001, BS EN 1276:2009.
20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the composition achieves a 100000-fold (5 log) reduction in the cfu of a pathogen grown on a designed growth medium within one minute at 20° C. under dirty conditions of 3.0 g/l bovine albumin, wherein the pathogen is one or more of the reference strains Listeria monocytogenes (ATCC 19115), E. coli (ATCC 8739), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027) and Enterococcus hirae (ATCC 10541).
21. The method of claim 19 wherein the composition exceeds at least one of (a) Standard BS EN 1650:1998 and (b) BS EN 13697:2001.
22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the composition possesses fungicidal activity within one minute at 20° C. under dirty conditions of 3.0 g/l bovine albumin for one or more of the reference strains Candida albicans, Aspergillus brasiliensis ( Aspergillus niger ), and Penecilium w.t.
23. The method of claim 2 wherein the carboxylic acid contains from 2 to 7 carbon atoms.
24. The method of claim 23 wherein the carboxylic acid is selected from the group consisting of citric acid, propionic acid, lactic acid, salicylic acid, benzoic acid, glyceric acid, oxalic acid, tartaric acid, acetic acid, chloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, and trifluoroacetic acid.
25. The method of claim 24 wherein the carboxylic acid is selected from the group consisting of citric acid, lactic acid, propionic acid and mixtures thereof.
26. The method of claim 2 wherein said composition contains phosphonic acid, a salt thereof, or a mixture of phosphonic acid and a salt thereof in a concentration of 0.5 to 98 wt. %.
27. The method according to claim 2 wherein said surfactant is an alkyl polyglycoside.
28. The method according to claim 2 wherein said performic acid source is selected from the group consisting of formic acid, formic acid esters, and formic acid salts.
29. The method according to claim 2 wherein said phosphoric acid is present in a concentration of 0.00001 to 98 wt. %.
30. The method according to claim 2 wherein said oxidizer is selected from the group consisting of inorganic peroxides, nitrates, halogens and halogen compounds, hypohalite compounds, ozone, oxides, permanganate salts, multi-valent chromium compounds, acids, sulfides and Tollens' reagent.
31. The method according to claim 2 wherein the oxidizer is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen peroxide, sodium percarbonate, sodium periodate, sodium persulfate, ammonium persulfate, sodium perborate, sodium peroxide, calcium peroxide, silver (II) oxide, chlorine dioxide, diacyl peroxides, ketone peroxides, peroxydicarbonates, peroxyesters, dialkyl peroxides, hydroperoxides, peroxyketals, urea hydrogen peroxide, ammonium hydrogen peroxide, ozone, sodium peroxydisulfate, potassium peroxydisulfate and ammonium peroxydisulfate.
32. The method according to claim 2 wherein the concentration of performic acid in said composition decreases by not more than 1% over 6 months at a temperature at or below 20° C.
33. The method according to claim 32 wherein the concentration of performic acid in said composition decreases by not more than 1% over 6 months at a temperature of 20° C.
34. The method of claim 2 , wherein, if hydrogen peroxide is present in the composition, the ratio of performic acid to hydrogen peroxide is less than 4:1.
35. A method for protecting a fruit or vegetable from the growth of one or more members of the group consisting of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus hirae, Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, Listeria monocytogenes and Penecillium , comprising contacting said fruit or vegetable with a composition comprising:
(1) water,
(2) at least one of: (a) phosphonic acid (HP(O)(OH) 2 ) or a salt thereof and (b) phosphoric acid,
(3) a carboxylic acid,
(4) a surfactant,
(5) at least one of: (i) a performic acid source and (ii) an oxidizer which can oxidize said performic acid source to performic acid, and
(6) performic acid,
said contacting being
(i) for a time and
(ii) in an amount of composition and/or at a concentration of composition sufficient to protect said edible matter from said growth, wherein the composition is such that at a concentration of 20 ppm performic acid and within one minute contact time at room temperature, the composition achieves the following (a), (b), or (a) and (b): (a) a 10000-fold (4 log) reduction in the cfu of a pathogen grown on a designed growth medium, wherein the pathogen is at least one of the pathogens in the group consisting of Candida albicans (ATCC 10231), Aspergillus niger (ATCC 16404), and Penecillium w.t. (wild type), (b) a 100000-fold (5 log) reduction in the cfu of a pathogen grown on a designed growth medium, wherein the pathogen is at least one of the pathogens in the group consisting of Escherichia coli (ATCC 8739), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027), Enterococcus hirae (ATCC 10541), and Listeria monocytogenes.
36. The method of claim 35 , wherein the composition does not contain both alkyl ester peroxycarboxylic acid and a C 2 or higher alcohol.
37. The method of claim 2 , wherein the composition does not contain both alkyl ester peroxycarboxylic acid and a C 2 or higher alcohol.
38. The method of claim 19 wherein the composition exceeds at least one of Standard BS EN 1276:1997 and BS EN 1276:2009.
39. The method of claim 20 wherein the composition possesses bactericidal activity within one minute at 20° C. under dirty conditions of 3.0 g/l bovine albumin for the reference strains E. coli (ATCC 8739), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538). Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027) and Enterococcus hirae (ATCC 10541).
40. The method of claim 19 wherein the composition has bactericidal activity against gram-positive bacteria.
41. The method of claim 19 wherein the composition has bactericidal activity against gram-negative bacteria.
42. The method of claim 2 wherein said edible matter is selected from the group consisting of fruits, vegetables, grains, sprouts, nuts, seeds, meats, meat products, milk, milk products, fish, poultry, eggs, and mixtures thereof.
43. The method of claim 42 wherein said edible matter is selected from the group consisting of fruits and vegetables.
44. The method of claim 2 , wherein the mass of performic acid (PFA) which is contacted with said edible matter is not more than 0.0001 times the mass of the edible matter.
45. The method of claim 2 , wherein the ratio of the mass of the PFA which is contacted with said edible matter to the volume of said edible matter is not more than 1 g per 0.1 m 3 .
46. The method of claim 2 wherein the concentration of said performic acid is from 1 ppb to 1000 ppm.
47. The method of claim 35 wherein with a one-minute contact time the composition meets or exceeds at least one of the following Standards: BS EN 1276:1997, BS EN 1650:1998, BS EN 13697:2001, BS EN 1276:2009.
48. The method of claim 47 , wherein the composition achieves a 100000-fold (5 log) reduction in the cfu of a pathogen grown on a designed growth medium within one minute at 20° C. under dirty conditions of 3.0 g/l bovine albumin, wherein the pathogen is one or more of the reference strains Listeria monocytogenes (ATCC 19115), E. coli (ATCC 8739), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027) and Enterococcus hirae (ATCC 10541).
49. The method of claim 47 wherein the composition exceeds at least one of (a) Standard BS EN 1650:1998 and (b) BS EN 13697:2001.
50. method of claim 49 , wherein the composition possesses fungicidal activity within one minute at 20° C. under dirty conditions of 3.0 g/l bovine albumin for one or more of the reference strains Candida albicans, Aspergillus brasiliensis ( Aspergillus niger ), and Penecilium w.t.
51. The method of claim 35 wherein the carboxylic acid contains from 2 to 7 carbon atoms.
52. The method of claim 51 wherein the carboxylic acid is selected from the group consisting of citric acid, propionic acid, lactic acid, salicylic acid, benzoic acid, glyceric acid, oxalic acid, tartaric acid, acetic acid, chloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, and trifluoroacetic acid, and mixtures thereof.
53. The method of claim 52 wherein the carboxylic acid is selected from the group consisting of citric acid, lactic acid, propionic acid and mixtures thereof.
54. The method of claim 35 wherein said composition contains phosphonic acid, a salt thereof, or a mixture of phosphonic acid and a salt thereof in a concentration of 0.5 to 98 wt. %.
55. The method according to claim 35 wherein said surfactant is an alkyl polyglycoside.
56. The method according to claim 35 wherein said performic acid source is selected from the group consisting of formic acid, formic acid esters, and formic acid salts.
57. The method according to claim 35 wherein said phosphoric acid is present in a concentration of 0.00001 to 98 wt. %.
58. The method according to claim 35 wherein said oxidizer is selected from the group consisting of inorganic peroxides, nitrates, halogens and halogen compounds, hypohalite compounds, ozone, oxides, permanganate salts, multi-valent chromium compounds, acids, sulfides and Tollens' reagent.
59. The method according to claim 35 wherein the oxidizer is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen peroxide, sodium percarbonate, sodium periodate, sodium persulfate, ammonium persulfate, sodium perborate, sodium peroxide, calcium peroxide, silver (II) oxide, chlorine dioxide, diacyl peroxides, ketone peroxides, peroxydicarbonates, peroxyesters, dialkyl peroxides, hydroperoxides, peroxyketals, urea hydrogen peroxide, ammonium hydrogen peroxide, ozone, sodium peroxydisulfate, potassium peroxydisulfate and ammonium peroxydisulfate.
60. The method according to claim 35 wherein the concentration of performic acid in said composition decreases by not more than 1% over 6 months at a temperature at or below 20° C.
61. The method according to claim 60 wherein the concentration of performic acid in said composition decreases by not more than 1% over 6 months at a temperature of 20° C.
62. The method of claim 35 , wherein, if hydrogen peroxide is present in the composition, the ratio of performic acid to hydrogen peroxide is less than 4:1.
63. The method of claim 47 wherein the composition exceeds at least one of Standard BS EN 1276:1997 and BS EN 1276:2009.
64. The method of claim 63 wherein the composition possesses bactericidal activity within one minute at 20° C. under dirty conditions of 3.0 g/l bovine albumin for the reference strains E. coli (ATCC 87391, Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027) and Enterococcus hirae (ATCC 10541).
65. The method of claim 47 wherein the composition has bactericidal activity against gram-positive bacteria.
66. The method of claim 47 wherein the composition has bactericidal activity against gram-negative bacteria.
67. The method of claim 35 , wherein the mass of performic acid (PFA) which is contacted with said fruit or vegetable is not more than 0.0001 times the mass of the fruit or vegetable.
68. The method of claim 35 , wherein the ratio of the mass of the PFA which is contacted with said fruit or vegetable to the volume of said fruit or vegetable is not more than 1 g per 0.1 m 3 .
69. The method of claim 35 wherein the concentration of said performic acid is from 1 ppb to 1000 ppm.