A cleaner approach to the cultivation of crops and the supply chain for farm-raised products.
Many crops are grown indoors using advanced methods. Vyv antimicrobial light is effective in indoor growing rooms and processing plants where harvested produce is prepared for distribution.
Making Salads Safer
It’s no secret that leafy greens like lettuce and spinach have been contaminated by E.coli and other microbes, resulting in food-borne illnesses and product recalls. The FDA responded to these recurring outbreaks by updating the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, establishing science-based minimum standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing and holding of produce. These standards apply to staff hygiene, equipment, surfaces, tools and buildings.
Shining a Light on the Foods We Eat
As with Food & Beverage manufacturing, Vyv antimicrobial light can be incorporated into the ways we grow food and crops to eradicate microbes that can damage crops. Regardless of the contamination that can happen prior to harvesting, Vyv can have a positive impact by killing* common germs and preventing their growth within the facility. Vyv brings a new kind of clean as the foundation to a multi-layered antimicrobial defense system.
Vyv reduces bacterial growth in horticultural environments.
A recent third-party study shows the efficacy of Vyv’s antimicrobial overhead lights in a plant processing room. Five locations in the room were swabbed two weeks prior to installation to establish baselines. The same sites were sampled daily. Total fungi counts along with 16 individual genus or species identifications were looked at, and totals were taken across time.
- Week 8 post-installation – total fungi, Penicillium, and yeast counts were reduced by more than 1-log.
- Week 36 post-installation – a 3.5-log reduction in Penicillium and yeast counts.
Vyv is proven to reduce surface contamination in heavily used environments with extremely high bio burden and high amounts of plant debris.
Vyv Increases the Yield in the Emerging Cannabis Market
While the horticultural system benefits from the use of antimicrobial light, testing has proven a specific benefit for cannabis growers by reducing the surface bioburden in growing and processing rooms. Antimicrobial lighting combats the effects of high humidity in grow rooms and keeps processing rooms clean by continuously preventing bacterial and mold growth.
Related Stories
*Testing on a non-enveloped virus (MS2 bacteriophage) showed a 97.12% reduction in controlled laboratory testing in 8 hours on hard surfaces. Testing on SARS-CoV-2 (enveloped virus) showed a 96.76% reduction in controlled laboratory testing in 8 hours on hard surfaces. Testing on MRSA and E. coli showed 90%+ reduction in controlled laboratory testing in 24 hours on hard surfaces. Results may vary depending on the amount of light that is reaching the surfaces in the space where the product is installed and the length of time of exposure. Use of Vyv antimicrobial light is not intended to replace manual cleaning and disinfection practices.
Let’s be in touch.
Contact us to find out more about how Vyv works in horticultural environments.