Sanitizing process rescues millions of pounds of food
Jun 19, 2003 12:00 PM, from staff and wire reports
With a system that eliminates risk of food contamination, safetycheck america reclaimed more than 16 million pounds of food product—a savings exceeding $20 million—for clients whose product was stored in a Chicago IL food warehouse owned and operated by LaGrou Cold Storage.The federal government shut down the warehouse in May 2002. Three senior level executives were federally indicted and charged with concealing rodent-infested conditions at the food warehouse.
Using its system, Chicago-based safetycheck america sanitized the food so it could be sold to grocery stores and other retail outlets. Its patent-pending system eliminates risk of food contamination from various sources, including rodents, and has been approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Its effectiveness also has been verified through independent tests at Kansas State University.
Post-process testing was employed to guarantee that the food was completely sanitized.
Jay Franks, president of safetycheck america, said, “Independent laboratory studies have shown that this is 100% effective against virtually everything.”
Working with the USDA and FDA, safetycheck america in August 2002 began putting food containers through its sanitizing process. The approach entails “fogging” containers in a closed space and sterilizing them. It is similar to a method used at the US Senate Hart Office Building.
