Bactericidal Efficacy of a Fumigation Disinfectant Containing Paraformaldehyde Against Salmonella Typhimurium

Abstract

This study was performed to evaluate the bactericidal efficacy of a fumigation disinfectant containing 35% paraformaldehyde against Salmonella Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium). In this study, the efficacy test of a fumigant against S. Typhimurium was carried out according to French standard NF T 72-281. The S. Typhimurium working culture suspension number (N value), all bacteria numbers on the carriers exposed to the fumigant (n1, n2, and n3), the number of bacterial suspensions by the pour plate method (N1), the number of bacterial suspensions by the filter membrane method (N2), and the mean number of bacteria recovered on the control carriers (T value), were obtained from the preliminary test. In addition, the reduction number of S. Typhimurium exposed to the fumigant (d value) was calculated using the T value, the mean number of bacteria in the recovery solution (n'1) and the mean number of bacteria on carriers plated in agar (n'2). The N value was 5.5×108 colony forming units (CFU)/mL, and n1, n2, and n3 were higher than 0.5N1, 0.5N2 and 0.5N1, respectively. Additionally, the T value was 3.5×106 CFU/carrier. In terms of the bactericidal effect of the fumigant, the d value was 5.25. According to the French standard for fumigants, the d value for an effective bactericidal fumigant should be greater than 5. The results indicated that the fumigant containing 35% paraformaldehyde had an efficient bactericidal activity against S. Typhimurium, and, therefore, can be used to disinfect food materials and kitchen appliances contaminated with foodborne bacteria.