Dry sanitization in the food industry: a review

Abstract

The hygiene process is a fundamental prerequisite program in the food industry. Highly diffused, wet sanitization becomes an issue for low-moisture food (LMF) processing companies since the presence of water allows for microbial growth. Thus, the interest in dry sanitation methods has been increasing in the last few decades. However, few studies in the literature have evaluated the efficiency of these methods to eliminate or reduce the microbial load from food contact surfaces. In this review, we summarize the recent research in dry sanitation and show critical factors of physical and chemical methods, such as their efficiencies, challenges, advantages, and implementation difficulties. In conclusion, dry sanitization is a reasonable option for LMF industry. Nevertheless, additional research on the impact of cleaning processes and of the combination of dry methods is necessary.