Background: Sanitizers and disinfectants are essential for hygienic control to prevent food poisoning. We evaluated the biocidal activity of a chlorine-based sanitizer/disinfectant, Foodsafe (Neochemical, Paju, Korea), against bacteria, yeasts, and mycobacteria. 

Methods: Clinical isolates and reference ATCC strains were exposed to the sanitizer/disinfectant solution (HOCl 100 ppm) prepared with Safefood tablets for various periods (0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 30, and 60 min). After the exposure the mixture of microorganisms and Safefood solution was inoculated into tryptic soy broth and onto tryptic soy agar or Sabouraud dextrose agar and cultured at 35oC. 

Results: All strains of bacteria, yeasts, mycobacteria, and vegetative form of Bacillus subtilis were killed within 2 min of an exposure to Foodsafe (100 ppm of HOCl) under both clean and dirty conditions. But, the spore form of B. subtilis was not killed even after 60 min. 

Conclusion: It may be recommended that Foodsafe can be used as an effective sanitizer/disinfectant for food hygienic control and an intermediate-level disinfectant for hospital infection control. (Korean J Clin Microbiol 2008;11:117-122)