Fresh Express will announce Friday "that it is abandoning the standard industry practice of washing leafy greens with chlorine and has begun using the acid mixture, which it claims is many times more effective in killing bacteria. The new wash solution, called FreshRinse, contains organic acids commonly used in the food industry, including lactic acid, a compound found in milk."
Mike Burness, vice president of global food quality and food safety, said that "the breakthrough came when researchers at the company combined lactic acid with another organic acid, peracetic acid. The two together, he said, worked much better than either one separately and also achieved markedly better results than chlorine."
Another advantage, according to Mr. Burness, is that the acid wash "does not bleach the greens, making them pale in color, as chlorine can."
To read the New York Times story, click here.
Posted: 10/19/2010
