UVC Disinfection Solutions for Safer Food and Beverage
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 600 million people, almost one in 10 worldwide, become sick each year from foodborne and waterborne microbes and pathogens (bacteria, fungi, molds, cysts, parasites, and viruses). Of those afflicted, approximately 420,000 will succumb to their illness and one-third of those deaths are in children.
UVC Surface Disinfection for Food Packaging
Given these risks, food packaging must be disinfected before it enters the production process. This is especially important for sensitive products such as infant formula, where cans must be disinfected before filling to help prevent microorganisms on the packaging surface from contaminating the finished product.
UVC disinfection addresses this need with a dry, chemical-free process for reducing microbial contamination on packaging surfaces. With only a few seconds of intense light exposure, UVC irradiation inactivates bacteria, yeast, and mold before products move further through the packaging process.
UVC Integration in Food Packaging Equipment
Excelitas offers a broad range of UVC systems that support reliable, low-maintenance operation and integrate into compact equipment designs to help save space and reduce energy costs. They can also be configured based on each facility’s conveyor speed, UV dosage, type of food being processed, and the requirements of new or existing production lines.
UVC Disinfection Across Food Safety Environments
UVC technology is highly versatile and can be effectively deployed in various settings, including bars, restaurants, senior living facilities, hospital food preparation areas, greenhouses, and throughout food and beverage processing chains, to protect human health, eliminate dangerous pathogens, and ensure the production of safe products for consumers.
How UVC Irradiation Inactivates Microorganisms
The primary mechanism for inactivating pathogenic microorganisms and viruses through UVC irradiation is relatively straightforward: UVC irradiation damages the genomes of bacteria and viruses by breaking bonds and forming photodimeric lesions in nucleic acids, including DNA and RNA. These lesions, in turn, prevent both transcription and replication, ultimately leading to inactivation, which prevents microorganisms and viruses from infecting and reproducing.
Excelitas UVC Light Solutions
Excelitas manufactures UVC light solutions across a wide range of technologies, including low-pressure mercury amalgam lamps, medium-pressure mercury lamps, and high-powered BlueLight® Flash systems. These UVC light sources also include pulsed Xenon products and LEDs with wavelengths of 265 nm, 273 nm, 277 nm, and 280 nm, as well as eye-safe excimer lamps at 222 nm.
Each of these technologies offers unique advantages for different end-use applications and disinfection goals, making them valuable to engineers, system designers, and integrators in the food safety industry.
Contact us to help select the right UVC solution for your food safety, packaging, or processing applications.