Mechanisms of Actions of Sodium Hypochlorite in Cleaning and Disinfection Processes

Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) is the most widely used disinfectant in the food industry despite the increasing availability of other disinfectants. Sodium hypochlorite fulfills many requirements as the ideal disinfectant and furthermore it has an excellent cleaning action. The effectiveness of sodium hypochlorite in the cleaning and disinfection processes depends on the concentration of available chlorine and the pH of the solution. Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) is a weak acid and dissociates to the hypochlorite ion (-OCl) and proton (H+) depending on the solution pH. It is generally believed that HOCl is the active species in the germicidal action, whereas the concentration of -OCl is a key factor determining the cleaning efficiency. This implies that the optimal pH region of the germicidal activity of sodium hypochlorite differs from that of its cleaning activity. This paper describes the theory and practice of the cleaning and disinfecting operations based on the use of sodium hypochlorite solution.