Synthetic pesticide disinfectants now commonly used on conveyor belts at local grocery stores.
I noticed it first at the Santa Rosa Costco store. I was in line with my daughter, it had been a long day and it was almost dinner time, we had a huge cart full of groceries. Water water all around and not enough to drink.
I first felt a spray of liquid on my back, then smelled strong chemicals. I turned around and the cashier in the adjacent line was spraying something on the conveyor belt. I noticed that bottles of the product they were using were at every check-stand so I snapped a photo and took my kid home. The chemical smell stuck with me for the next few hours and made it more difficult to breathe. I took a shower, washed my clothes and by the next day I felt fine.
However, regarding human health the product being used at Costco and other local grocery stores since COVID-19 is not exactly fine.
This product contains "Quats", synthetic disinfectant chemicals considered to be strong pesticides. Quats or quaternary ammonium compounds have become much more widely used since COVID-19. You'll know if your product has them if it contains a chemical with the ending "...onium chloride". Quats are really only appropriate to use with proper personal protective equiptment (PPE) and safety protocols including rinsing after use. If your grocery store uses Quats on a conveyor belt, it is possible that your hands and your food will be contaminated with Quats or their more toxic disinfection byproducts. Quats can be acutely damaging to the skin and lungs.
The way Quats are being used at our local grocery stores fits into a complicated gray area that consumers who care about organic food and store employees might not be happy with.
Bottle of Costco "Quat" Disinfectant
*Quats can cause new onset asthma and trigger existing asthma conditions. Rather than fighting respiratory illness from COVID-19 Quats can actually create or exacerbate health conditions. (2)
*Quats rapidly create highly toxic "disinfection byproducts", similar to but stronger than what are created from the use of bleach. Disinfection byproducts are strong toxicants and associated with birth and developmental defects, reproductive issues, liver damage, and cancer. These disinfection byproduct chemicals have become more prevalent in the environment since COVID-19 becuase of the increased use of Quats. When we use Quats and "wash them away", the more toxic disinfection byproducts end up in our creeks and water supplies.
*Recent guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics cautions that products “containing quaternary ammonium compounds or “Quats” should not be used when children and adolescents are present, because these are known respiratory irritants.” It also notes that children “should not be present when disinfectants are in use and should not participate in disinfecting activities” because these products are not safe for children.(2)
*Safer disinfectants without Quats are commercially available. Hypochlorous Acid, for example, is safe, 100 times more powerful than bleach, and proven to be effective against COVID-19.
It's important to understand the different between cleaners, sanitizers, and disinfectants as there are important legal definitions for each that impact when they should be used. (3) Cleaners are for physically removing dirt and germs. They usually involved using soap to scrub and rinse. According to the CDC, cleaning should always come before sanitizing or disinfecting. Sanitizers are for killing most (not all) of the microbes on something. They are meant to be sprayed on a surface after cleaning and left without rinsing. Alcohol is an example of a sanitizer. Disinfectants are tested and registered by the EPA to ensure they kill almost all (99.9%) of microbes on a surface. Disinfectants are ideally used after a cleaning and need to be rinsed off after use. Quats, bleach, hypochlorous acid, and even products made with thyme oil are EPA registered disinfectants. Proper use requires washing a surface after they are used.
In summary, Quats should not be used around children, they should be washed off after use to prevent contamination and exposure, and they could damage a worker's skin and respiratory system if used without protective equipment (e.g. masks, coverings for clothes, etc.). In the complicated ad-hoc compliance system that has arisen since COVID-19, loopholes have opened the door for grocery stores to use Quats in the presence of children, without protective equipment and without washing after disinfecting.
Please help us by reporting what you see at the grocery conveyor belt.
Official pesticide exposure reports have been filed with the Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner's office for both Costco and Oliver's Market over the use of Quats on conveyor belts. In response to customer pressure, Olivers Market is now using a safe disinfectant product!
In addition to Oliver's Market, Community Market (Santa Rosa and Sebastopol), and Whole Foods Markets are also not currently using Quats to disinfect.
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