As food manufacturers continue production during the COVID-19 pandemic, they are faced with the challenges of keeping their workforces safe and healthy. Sterilex, a provider of EPA registered disinfectant products suitable for use in food manufacturing, has an expanded protocol designed to safeguard workers for essential businesses within the food supply chain.

“Essential workers within the food industry don’t have the luxury of telecommuting. It requires hands-on labor and an element of risk to maintain our food supply,” says Shira Kramer, Ph.D., public health epidemiologist, and company founder. “Here at Sterilex, we want to help food manufacturers enhance their disinfection protocols to protect their valued employees and keep supply chains open and running.”

While food manufacturing facilities already have sanitation protocols in practice for production areas, these additional protocols encompass other zones within sites where worker safety could be compromised, such as breakrooms, cafeterias, locker rooms and offices.

“The same Sterilex products being used in food production areas are now on EPA’s List-N of disinfectants for use against SARS-CoV-2 (Coronavirus),” explains Kramer. “We’ve devised additional disinfection protocols for control of viruses in non-production areas as another layer of protection to help safeguard essential workers and to reduce cross contamination between treated surfaces.”

Expanded virucidal disinfection in breakrooms, locker rooms and offices can be accomplished by either mopping, wiping or spraying surfaces with a mixture of Sterilex Ultra Disinfectant Cleaner and Activator Solution. Non-food contact surfaces do not need rinsing. Complete application recommendations and protocols can be found at www.sterilex.com/coronavirus.

COVID-19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2. The company’s Sterilex Ultra Disinfectant Cleaner Solution 1, when combined with Sterilex Ultra Activator Solution, according to the proper protocol, kills similar viruses. Therefore, it can be used against SARS-CoV-2. EPA has included these Sterilex products on its short list of disinfectants companies can use to clean facilities during this current viral outbreak.

Sterilex is distinctly situated to help safeguard the food supply chain with a virucidal product that carries a unique regulatory designation that it can be applied to food contact surfaces, with a rinse. Please refer to the CDC website at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/ for additional information on the outbreak.