Testing the efficacy on antibacterial wipes
Objective
The objective of the experiments was to determine whether the use of antibacterial wipes vs. all-purpose cleaning wipes would have a significant effect on the level of microbial contamination in the kitchen after the preparation of a typical dinner, and clean-up.
The experiment
For these experiments, we asked a volunteer to prepare a typical meal in our experimental kitchen at the Pasteur Institute. The study protocol was designed based on our understanding of consumers' work practices in the kitchen during meal preparation. A protocol was needed in order to keep random errors due to uncontrolled variables to a minimum.
After the meal was prepared, the volunteer was asked to do the washing up and tidy the kitchen, using either all-purpose cleaning wipes or antibacterial wipes for cleaning surfaces. After clean-up, microbiologists sampled known "hot spots" for viable bacteria
We decided to focus on hot spots because differences in bacterial numbers would be the most easily detected there.
After the meal was prepared, the volunteer was asked to do the washing up and tidy the kitchen, using either all-purpose cleaning wipes or antibacterial wipes for cleaning surfaces. After clean-up, microbiologists sampled known "hot spots" for viable bacteria
We decided to focus on hot spots because differences in bacterial numbers would be the most easily detected there.
Results
The figure at the left show the results of the experiments performed by volunteers in our Experimental Kitchen. Each point represents an individual study.
The site number (horizontal axis) corresponds to the hot spot site in the kitchen (see "What are hot spots" in previous paragraph). The vertical axis corresponds to the number of bacteria. The data clearly shows that with antimicrobial wipes, the number of bacteria is much lower than when using water and soap alone.
- Red squares indicate the contamination level at the end of meal preparation, but before cleaning.
- Blue circles indicate the number of remaining, viable bacteria after cleaning with regular non-antibacterial wipes.
- Green triangles indicate the number of remaining, viable bacteria after cleaning with antibacterial wipes.
The site number (horizontal axis) corresponds to the hot spot site in the kitchen (see "What are hot spots" in previous paragraph). The vertical axis corresponds to the number of bacteria. The data clearly shows that with antimicrobial wipes, the number of bacteria is much lower than when using water and soap alone.