Marines Lagemaat, Manager QRS, Suominen Codi Wipes (The Netherlands) said that before 2009 their were no claims for disinfection on wipes packs, but the H1N1 scare had changed that. Cleansing with disinfection was a definite market need, but the Biocidal Products Directive stood in the way. So Codi teamed up with Lonza, a life sciences company from Switzerland who came up with 3 Lonzagard concentrates usable in wipes. The efficacy (log reduction) of each concentrate was evaluated using 3, 5, 7, 9% concentrations on the wipe, and cleaning efficiency determined by cleaning mirrors contaminated with dried-on milk powder. Effective 100% PET wipes emerged from all 3 concentrates and one product was chosen for hard-surface market testing. Claims were:
- Cleans and disinfects in one step
- Non-corrosive and free from quats , aldehydes, alcohol.
- Kills 99.9999% of bacteria and effective against yeasts and viruses
- Non-chlorine base.
Consumer testing suggested a volatile market, and the absence of H1N1 in 2011 meant little interest in the disinfection claim. In fact disinfection was disliked in the baby market. In the Industrial and Institutional market where the cleaning industry is well established and large chemical companies dominate, wipes have to be introduced as the standard tool for cleaning small surfaces. The medical market feels no need to change.
In response to questions, the test methods used are the same as those for liquid disinfectants. The liquid is squeezed out after use and if still active it’s OK. Measuring surface residues would perhaps be better and maybe new methods are needed. Both EPA and ASTM have relevant protocols.
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