Flooring foodborne disease

Target markets for the new Uragard floor system are hygiene-critical food industry facilities such as bakeries, breweries, dairies and meat processing plants. The company claims that the addition of vanquish antimicrobial protection, developed by Avecia Biocides, is the latest in a long series of product performance enhancements since the introduction of the Uragard brand in 1986. Avecia Biocides' Vanquish antimicrobial works by reducing the number of bacterial cells surviving contact with the surface. The flooring layer acts as a reservoir to ensure that the effects against bacteria and fungi are maintained at the surface. The active ingredient of Vanquish antimicrobials for plastics is BBIT (n-butyl-1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one). BBIT is arsenic, tin and chlorine-free, which can act as a preservative as well as imparting an antibacterial effect on a surface. BBIT is also a notified substance in compliance with the requirements of the EU's Biocidal Products Directive (BPD). The Uragard product range includes heavy and medium duty seamless floor screeds, trowel applied renders, flexible membranes and scratch resistant coatings. Performance characteristics already include chemical resistance, durability, anti-slip and high resistance to heat distortion. As well as food processing, other typical hygiene-critical applications for Uragard HT include chemical plants, soft drink and beverage, pharmaceutical and electronics production facilities. The product is due to be launched at the Foodex Meatex show, which runs from 14-17 March at the NEC in Birmingham. Avecia is one of the world's top three producers of biocides. Its protection & hygiene business develops and produces antimicrobials for more than 25 applications in industrial preservation, disinfection, plastics, textile antimicrobials and personal care. Vanquish antimicrobials were first launched in 1997 and work to preserve substrates as well as imparting antibacterial effects in a wide range of polymers, including PVC, polyurethanes, polypropylene, polyethylene and silicones. John L Lord & Sons is a manufacturer of specialist flooring products. Clients in the food industry include Northern Foods, Heinz and Coors.

Flooring foodborne disease

A new range of polyurethane resin-based floor systems that combines an antimicrobial layer has been launched. Manufacturer John Lord claims that this new innovation can help food manufacturers fight against microbes that cause food poisoning, odour and surface degradation at production level.

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