Silver service, healthier meals
August 1st 2008

Proven in the healthcare sector,antimicrobial specialist, BioCote, is now targeting the food industry.MD Matthew Harte says the possibilities for reducing bacteria are almost endless, but the technology alone is no silver bullet.Brendan Coyne reports

Widely known in the healthcare sector, BioCote was actually conceived for the food industry when the original inventor (who remains a shareholder) was selling handrails into a major food manufacturer.He felt he could sell more if they were antimicrobial, developed an antimicrobial powder product, patented it, and BioCote was born.

In 2001, the company decided to make healthcare its primary target, with the rationale that if you could crack what is perceived to be the toughest bacteria nut, the technology would filter down into other sectors. BioCote MD,Matthew Harte, says that after years of trials, studies, data collation and proven results, the technology is becoming widely accepted within healthcare."Now it's time to broaden our horizons." A trial with a local food company, KJ Meats, saw a series of products placed into its facility which were continually monitored and saw similar results to hospital trials - 96 percent bacterial reductions, according to Harte, although he's keen to stress that the improvements don't come over night."People tend to think that this is special - a kind of silver bullet - but that's not the case. It doesn't replace cleaning regimes, and it must not be treated any differently.

You need to let products bed down and equilibrate, and for people to start treating them as normal before you start testing." Equally important, says Harte, is for premises to take a cohesive approach."Within the food environment, you have vast numbers of contact points.Take a fast food restaurant for example, the counter, the till,work surfaces, walls, tables, chairs, door handles, floors, ceilings, the equipment - the list goes on.We can effectively treat all those contact points, and they all help each other. Placing complementary products together creates an antimicrobial environment and generates the maximum effect." Although Harte says "we can treat all those surfaces", he says BioCote itself doesn't have a product to sell, relying instead on its partner programme, which includes major industry brands such as Deb and Dyson. "Deb has been on board for some years now," says Harte,"and has seen volumes of BioCote dispensers grow steadily throughout that time." Other partners in the food sector include locker manufacturer, Link (pictured).

BioCote advises partners to add its silver technology at as low a price premium as possible, and Harte says incorporation into the manufacturing process is straightforward."A lot of manufacturers subcontract to regions such as the Far East, so if you make it too complicated, it won't get done." He says the firm is now working to quantify the cost benefits that result from consistently lowering bacteria as a way of helping partners market their products.

So what kind of cleaning products can benefit from silver technology? According to Harte, anything that is multi-user and used in the cleaning process. For example, mopping buckets on wheels and cleaning trolleys,which are moved from area to area by different workers."They handle cleaning products, but how regularly and thoroughly are they cleaned themselves?" However, he says consumers need to question and understand what silver technology can – and cannot – achieve."It doesn't replace hygiene and if you're looking to buy these products, you have to understand the technology behind it. Just because it has silver in it doesn't mean it will be effective.

Putting it in at the right levels into the right applications is key. Always ask for test results, to be shown hard evidence of how it works and its effects. For some products you can justify it, and for others you can't.

Always question the benefits." BioCote now seeks to strengthen its partner portfolio, and welcomes questions from both end-users and manufacturers as to which products and applications might gain from silver technology.

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