Residential Commercial Microban Treated Silestone

1. Mann, D. Germs in the Kitchen. WebMD, October 18, 2007.http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/germs-in-kitchen2. Rusin, P., Orosz-Coughlin, P. and Gerba, C. (1998)Reduction of fecal coliform, coliform, and heterotrophic plate count bacteria in the household kitchen and bathroom by disinfection with hypochlorite cleaners. Journal of Applied Microbiology 85, 819-828.

Microbial Burden of a Kitchen Countertop

Microban Products Company (MPC) provides antimicrobial additives that can be used as preservatives in many kitchen products such as sponges, cutting boards, handles of utensils, faucets, and countertops. Our additives are incorporated into these products to protect them from stains, odors, and product deterioration caused by microbial growth. Microban® technology is not designed to protect users from disease causing microorganisms that may exist on kitchen surfaces and it is not a substitute for normal cleaning and hygiene practices. But it does keep the surfaces of products containing Microban® additives cleaner and fresher between normal cleanings and can extend the useful life of these products.

But how do you know?You may have read that kitchens contain more bacteria than a typical bathroom(1), and that under optimal conditions, bacteria can double on an unprotected surface every 20 minutes. But you can’t see growing microorganisms like you can see dirt and stains, or smell the odors they can cause.

MPC recently completed a study that investigates how effective Microban® antimicrobial additives can be in reducing the growth of microorganisms on a treated product’s surface. The product chosen to be tested was a Silestone® countertop.

In our study, untreated commercial and kitchen countertops were tested against the Microban®-treated Silestone® countertop. Numbers of bacteria on each were measured by placing contact plates on the surface of the test countertops for a specified period of time and then letting any bacteria present grow on them for one day. The bacterial growth observed on plates from the untreated countertops was very close to what has been published in similar studies in peer-reviewed scientific journals(2). On the Microban® treated Silestone® countertops, the number of growing bacteria was significantly reduced as shown below in the photographs of representative plates from the study. These photographs are provided for comparative purposes only, to substantiate the antimicrobial activity we observed in our study. Microban antimicrobial product protection is limited to the product itself and is not designed to protect the users of these products from disease causing microorganisms, food borne illnesses, or as a substitute for normal cleaning and hygiene practices.

Even though you can’t see the effect of Microban® antimicrobial additives, you can have confidence that it is continually working to protect your kitchen products, keeping them cleaner and fresher for longer.