Italian technology plast / May 2021 |
contact with water and food , meaning that these materials enhance the effectiveness of the whole surface sanitation system . The range of applications benefiting from self-sanitising surfaces is extremely wide : light switches , car dashboards , seats , kitchen tools , flasks , mobile-phone cases , accessories for hospital use , water tanks and filters , pipes , plastic partitions , safety masks , yarn and non-woven fabrics . Some of our customers already use this technology in their products : Esseciplast Srl , based in Alpignano , near Turin , a leading company in the manufacturing of PVC floorings for hospitals , fitness centres and big retailers , launched the Global Pure brand , a breakthrough self-sanitising , bactericide-free floor . AMG Srl , headquartered in Correggio , near Reggio Emilia , which manufactures professional water filtering systems , is completing the certification process for the launch of a new range of bactericide-free filters for drinking water featuring self-sanitising properties , while the Polish company Rabugino Sp . z |
o . o . Plastic Industry will soon present a new project , called Twinst , for a shopping cart based on the bifree technology , with the aim of improving consumer safety . For privacy reasons , we don ’ t want to name other companies , but we ’ d like to point out that we have about twenty ongoing projects in Italy and abroad , involving two major corporations which operate in the piping and in the food industries respectively ; in addition , the Deloitte FoodTech Accelerator analysed the bifree project , and now considers it one of the most innovative projects within their business incubator .
VALIDATIONS AND EFFICACY STUDIES The bifree materials , with their inherent antibacterial effect combined with the absence of bactericides , represent a true revolution leading to a new category of smart materials , the “ selfsanitising materials . ” They are “ bactericide-free ”, and therefore they cannot be defined as antibacterial by law : this is why they offer all advantages in terms of compliance and non-toxicity . That said , the only way to validate the efficacy of this technology is the only test recognised worldwide for plastics , the ISO 22196-2011 ,
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measuring and standardising the bacteriostatic or antibacterial capacity of a material . Globally , a material with an efficacy level higher than 90 % is considered active against bacteria : the bifree technology can reach 99.9 % and , in some cases , even exceed that value . The validation and certification tests have been carried out by accredited laboratories not only on the two strains conventionally used as indicators of human infections , i . e . the Staphylococcus Areus and the Escherichia Coli . Laboratory testing also shows an excellent reduction of algae , close to 60 %. The excellent results obtained are obviously arousing the interest of many market operators , concluded Piumetti : “ We have interesting negotiations in progress , mainly in the food packaging industry , since internal moisture favours the growth of colonies of bacteria and fermentation phaenomena , to the detriment of the product ’ s shelf life and its visual appeal . And since Gerbaldo Polimeri , with its 32 employees , remains a medium-small enterprise , we are constantly searching for partner customers in order to fully exploit the potential of such a broad and deep technology by starting joint development projects .” |
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