The prospect of faster and more environmentally friendly cleaning of systems in the beverage industry led 40 participants to a workshop on the "Use of ozone for cleaning and disinfection in the food industry" in Bremerhaven. At the third Bremerhaven workshop on this topic, the first results from the recently completed series of tests in the wine and beer industry provided an important basis for discussion.
According to the current state of knowledge and facts, the wearing of artificial nails, nail reinforcements or nail jewelry is not responsible for kitchen staff and caregivers. This is the conclusion that Professor Dr. med. vet. Dieter Bödecker, hygiene advisor for old people's and nursing homes, recently gave a lecture at the 8th Hygiene Forum of the trade journal Rationelle Hauswirtschaft in Hanover.
At the end of November, the first international congress took place in Athens, which dealt with the important role of copper in the fight against hospital-acquired infections. Globally leading scientists have attested copper with specific antimicrobial properties, which assign the material an important role as "health watchdog": Laboratory tests have shown that 99,9 percent of bacteria, including the highly dangerous MRSA pathogens (MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), are within over a period of a few minutes to two hours on copper surfaces. On the other hand, survival rates of the same microbes of up to three days were measured on stainless steel surfaces. In Athens, in addition to these research results, the first practical experiences from clinical investigations were presented that are being carried out in various hospitals in Great Britain, South Africa, Japan, the USA and the Asklepios Clinic in Hamburg-Wandsbek. Frequently used contact surfaces such as doorknobs or light switches have been replaced by products made of a copper alloy.
Producing food in a hygienically safe manner is the top priority for the food industry. Because the health of consumers should not be endangered by their products. To achieve this goal, machines and production processes must be designed according to hygienic standards. In the meantime, the food manufacturers have recognized that these measures also contribute to the optimization and thus to the profitability of their processes. The hygienic production, packaging and storage through to distribution will be comprehensively represented at Anuga FoodTec from March 10th to 13th, 2009.
Developing new antimicrobial plastic surfaces for the protection of humans and animals is the goal of the "SmartSurf" project, in which the University of Bonn, Münster University of Applied Sciences and six commercial companies are involved. The research serves to improve food quality and safety. The Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology is making around 1,4 million euros available over a period of three years. The companies involved are taking on a good 500.000 euros.