Investigation of the potential of dry ice blasting for cleaning and disinfection in the food production environment

- Dry ice blasting removes consistently bacteria from surfaces.
- Cleaning with dry ice is similar on various surfaces but abrasive on some surfaces.
- Pressure and CO2 quantity are important for the cleaning efficacy.
- Dry ice blasting is suitable as a cleaning method with subsequent disinfection.
- Dry ice blasting can lead to recontamination due to spread viable bacteria.

Cleaning with solid CO2 (dry ice blasting) is an environmental friendly, fast and residue-free method applied in many industrial areas. In this study the disinfection potential of dry ice blasting and parameters influencing cleaning efficacy was investigated. The method removes bacterial cells to a similar extent from several surfaces and components of dairy production equipment, occasionally with a slight abrasive effect. Efficacy is affected by the quantity of dry ice and pressure applied but neither by the pellet size nor the initial quantity of bacterial cells on the surface. Since the bacteria removal rate is less than five log10 units, dry ice blasting cannot be recommended as a disinfection method, but it demonstrates efficient cleaning comparable to other conventional methods. In practice, dry ice blasting of food production equipment is recommended outside the production area because there is a high risk of recontamination due to spread of the bacteria.