The Procedure 

A preliminary study was conducted by a third party laboratory, Lebrun Labs LLC – a GLP contract testing laboratory located in Anaheim, CA. The test was designed to determine if the most common foodborne pathogens in 5 different food-like substances (drinking water, chicken broth, beef broth, milk and blood) can be reduced in number or completely eliminated from common food preparation surfaces. The microbes were obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC®) and cultured under standard conditions. 

• Known concentrations of microbes added to food-like substances and applied to sterilized stainless steel 

• Inoculated stainless steel transferred to biohazard chamber for testing 

• Inoculated plates mounted for exposure and steam cleaned for defined exposure times 

The Results 

The procedures resulted in the complete elimination of Staphylococcus aureus on stainless steel after 8 seconds of cleaning, the complete elimination of Campylobacter coli on stainless steel after 8 seconds of cleaning. The conclusion is that the Optima Steamer™ eliminates or significantly reduces the most common foodborne pathogens in a variety of food-like substances from food preparation surfaces. 

 Previously in 2012, Lebrun Labs tested the efficacy of elimination of 2 wine microbes (Brettanomyces dekkera and Zygosaccharomyces bailii) and Escherichia coli from glass, plastic (polystyrene), and stainless steel. It was found that the Optima Steamer™ eliminates the 2 wine spoilage microbes and E. coli from the surfaces of all material tested.