With the current focus on human health and safety, more and more ways to protect the public from cross contamination of food borne illnesses and viral contamination has been implemented by government and private enterprise. Currently, the cleaning and sanitizing of grocery store conveyor belts is being done manually by employees. Generally, this entails the employee (usually the cashier) spraying and wiping a cleaning and/or sanitizing product provided by the store’s management with some type of wiper (usually a paper towel or microfiber cloth). By leaving this up to human discretion there is room for error in not eradicating all of the bacterial and viral contamination. The effectiveness is only as good as the training and efforts of the employee. Therefore, there is a need for a product that will continually sanitize grocery checkout conveyors completely and consistently adding another layer of protection.
The general public is keenly aware of the prevalence of food recalls. COVID-19 and the pandemic has brought health safety to the forefront and sanitization is now a common term.
2024 Was a Year of High-Profile Food Recalls
The numbers tell the story.
- 296 total recalls (FDA + USDA) in 2024, a slight decrease from 2023.
- 1,392 people sickened by recalled food (up from 1,118 in 2023).
- Hospitalizations more than doubled, increasing from 230 in 2023 to 487 in 2024.
- Deaths more than doubled, rising from 8 in 2023 to 19 in 2024.
At first glance, the overall number of 2024 food recalls might seem stable. But the severity of foodborne illness cases increased, proving that it’s not just about quantity, it’s about impact.
https://fsns.com/food-recalls-in-2024-revealing-the-statistics
“Bacteria are the largest group of problematic foodborne pathogens by far. They are small, one-celled microbes that come in many shapes and are capable of reproducing themselves.” (Stop Foodborne Illness Organization)
“Viruses are easily transferred from one food product to another, from contaminated water to foods, and from infected food handlers to foods.” (Stop Foodborne Illness Organization)
“Cross Contamination is the physical movement or transfer of harmful bacteria from one person, object or place to another.” (Minnesota Department of Health)
Cross contamination is a key factor in food-borne illness (food poisoning), and it has four common sources: food, people, equipment and work surfaces.