Date: October 1, 2002

EDT Corp response regarding
Anti-Microbial Agents

Anti-microbial agents in bearings, bearing housings, belting, cutting boards, knife handles and other food processing accessories are being increasingly promoted in industry. They began to appear several years ago in the U.S. with a variety of consumer and industrial products. In the European Union, Microban® has been approved as a food contact additive in plastics. In the USA, it is registered for use in food contact surfaces, except in food packaging.

EDT Corp is keeping watch on the regulations by government agencies as well as the scientific debate about this kind of product. There is not full agreement about the benefit or harm that these anti-microbial agents can have either short- or long-term.

Regardless of how they are promoted, anti-microbial agents are not designed to kill and do not kill the harmful bacteria. While certainly some bacteria are killed in the process, the purpose of these agents is to RETARD THE GROWTH of the bacteria. While this certainly would seem to be a desirable feature, there is considerable evidence in the testing that has been done to date that the bacteria that are not killed are, in fact, more resistant to these agents and develop increased resistance. This creates a bigger problem than was had before the introduction of these agents. This is true of Microban® and all other antimicrobial agents on the market.

If 98% of bacteria coming in contact with any product were killed because of an anti-microbial additive, that would leave 2% that would quickly multiply and, in the subsequant generations, would not be affected by the agent at all. In these kinds of bacteria, the second generation could be generated quickly and food processing plants would be continually forced into new and advanced chemicals to keep up acceptable sanitation levels.

Surveys that have been conducted in both the consumer and industrial markets clearly indicate that people believe that these agents kill the bacteria, and people have developed a false sense of security when using products advertised with this anti-microbial feature. It is unwise to operate under the assumption that anti-microbials prevent bacteria from occurring.

Anti-microbial agents are not expensive and do not change the price of the products in any meaningful way, but they make for great advertising until the buyer fully understands the limitations of the products. Many companies have added these agents to their products with good intentions but have done so without a full understanding of the long term implications of these actions. Products are too often advertised for their features, and the limitations are not explained. The customer must make a purchasing decision without complete information.