Organic Supermarket

Case Study:

Airocide PPTTM Perishables Preservation Technology

Airocide PPTTM photocatalytic air purifiers contain the same NASA-developed technology that is used in a variety of Airocide product lines. In addition to serving the food safety industry as well as in floral and perishable preservation Airocide technology has been developed to kill/remove/eliminate airborne pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms in vegetative and spore states (bacteria, mold, fungi, viruses and dust mites), allergens, odors and harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air in a variety of commercial, government and residential market applications including the medical healthcare industry (Airocide is listed as an FDA Class II Medical Device).

Summary

A clinical study of the Airocide PPT airborne pathogen killing technology was conducted in the refrigerated walk-in cooler of Return to Eden, an independent organic grocery store in Atlanta, GA. The data supports the hypothesis that airborne mold and bacteria levels would be lowered after 48 hours of continuous operation of the Airocide PPT system. The results show an average airborne mold reduction inside the coolers of 89% in 48 hours and an airborne bacteria reduction of 67% in the same time frame.

Protocol

The coolers used in this study was approximately 37 m³ in volume. The Airocide PPT system in the study consisted of one (1) GCS-25 unit located in the center of the room. The test period consisted of two (2) days of air sampling in May 2005. A baseline air sample was taken in the cooler without the Airocide unit operating and was compared to Active On samples taken in the same location after 48 hours of Airocide use. Air samples were taken for comparison in the Perpetration Area just outside the cooler. Air samples were taken with a slit air sampler (similar to the Andersen N6 sampler) on 15 x 100 mm plastic petri dishes. All samples were cultured on Potato Dextrose Agar plate by Aerotech Laboratories in Phoenix, AZ, and the results were measured in colony forming units (CFU) per cubic meter of air (CFU: the number of viable bacteria or fungal cells in a sample capable of reproduction). All agar plates were exposed to 28.3 l/m of air for 3 minutes.

Results:

2. The table below shows airborne bacteria reduction inside the cooler of 67% in 48 hours.