As the UK begins to gradually open back up, Alison Clark, Progiene business unit manager is urging members of the agricultural and food production sectors to ensure sanitising practices are being conducted with due diligence and with products that are fit for purpose.

“Whether it be regularly wiping down a shared tractor cab between different members of staff or keeping surfaces clean in farm shops, garden centres and merchant stores, precautions must be taken to prevent potential exposure to the novel coronavirus,” said Ms Clark.

When it comes to selecting sanitising spray, it must be efficacy tested and conform to EN 14476, a test which verifies the product will kill 99.99% of enveloped viruses such as the novel coronavirus. According to Ms Clark, this verification can be found on cleaning product labels.

“There is a lot of confusion in the marketplace with people purchasing products with the best of intentions. A good example is a bottle of leading household surface cleanser – capable of killing bacteria and seemingly a good option. However, it is not verified as capable of killing viruses,” explained Ms Clark.

“Before making a product purchase, check that it is EN 14476 verified, and if it is not, then don’t waste your money on it. The novel coronavirus is an enveloped virus; therefore products must be able to penetrate its lipid structure to kill it and EN 14476 ensures the product can do this.”

For areas that need to be sanitised in feed and food production facilities, such as milking parlours, vegetable boxes or butcher counters, sanitising products must be free of QAC (quaternary ammonium compounds) to avoid contaminating food supply through residual build-ups. While alcohol and bleach have been proven to be effective at killing enveloped viruses and are safe for food production, they are very harmful to stainless steel and textiles and have substantial hazardous profiles.

Since it is not advisable to expose skin to chemical sanitising sprays, soap and hand sanitiser should be utilised for hand hygiene.

“Soaps are also known for their effectiveness in breaking through the lipid membrane of the cell wall to destroy bacteria and viruses,” added Ms Clark. “It is advised to wash hands thoroughly with hot water and soap for at least 20 seconds.”

When unable to wash hands with hot water and soap, hand sanitiser should be used.

“Practicing good sanitising measures with products verified to kill enveloped viruses like the novel coronavirus is absolutely essential to protect the health of staff and customers, and to maintain regular business operation,” concluded Ms Clark. “Using a multi-purpose product that will not only kill viruses, but other pathogens, is an effective way to do this.”