AOAC 960.09

Germicidal and Detergent Sanitizing Action of Disinfectants – Food Contact Sanitizer – Modified for Towelettes

Summary and Test Overview

This test is designed to substantiate effectiveness claims for a product intended to be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a sanitizer to treat food-contact surfaces using pre-saturated towelettes. The test is based on modifications of the method described in AOAC Method 960.09 Germicidal and Detergent Sanitizing Action of Disinfectants (2013) and is required by EPA Guidance for Non-Residual Sanitation of Hard Inanimate Food Contact Surfaces Using Pre-Saturated Towelettes.  

For each challenge microorganism, three lots of a single test substance are evaluated using one replicate (comprised of four 1’ x 1’ surfaces) per 4’ x 4’surface type.  Two types of test surfaces (stainless steel and plastic carriers) are evaluated.  Hard surface carriers inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus or Escherichia coli are subjected to the test substance according to the sponsor’s directions, held for the stipulated contact time, neutralized, and then removed into the solution by scraping using a cell scraper.  Dilutions of the neutralized mixture are plated, incubated, and enumerated and compared to a Parallel control where inoculated carriers are treated with the wipes of same material as test product provided by the sponsor and saturated with sterile deionized water or sterile saline solution. 

Four surfaces per wipe are treated and held for the time directed by the sponsor or the label instructions. For each surface, the wipe is used in a manner to thoroughly wipe the inoculated and dried portion of the carrier for 15 second, rotating the area of the wipe used to expose a maximum amount of its surface in the course of wiping the contaminated test surfaces for another 15 seconds. Between carriers the wipe is unfolded and re-folded to expose new faces. When wiping, the entire surface containing the inoculation area is wiped.

According to EPA guidelines, the test substance meets effectiveness requirements, if the test results exhibit a bacterial reduction of at least 99.999% (5-log₁₀) over the parallel control within 30 seconds.