I caught a Choice interview a while ago where they categorically stated that non-alcoholic disinfectants didn’t work against Covid and said they were all scams.
Yet I’ve been using a non-alcoholic food safe disinfectant that has been tested as effective against Covid for some time.
The Citrozine TGA testing shows the product really does kill viruses, bacteria and fungi.
Citrozine is the active ingredient and it is used in a range of personal care products.
I’ve contacted Choice about Citrozine and they suggested I post this info in the forums.
So this is just an informative post for anyone who might be interested in a non-alcoholic food safe alternative to the standard disinfectants.
Does anyone know of any other similar products that have been tested to work?
BTW: I’ve used similar products that have not had any testing to prove their effectiveness. Other citrus products all seem to work a bit but Citrozine appears to be much more effective than anything else on the market. The fact that Citrolife have properly tested their products probably helps?
there isn’t any information which specifically indicates that Citrozine is an effective against Covid-19. Until such time there is evidence and Cistrozine(r) is approved as a disinfectants for use against COVID-19 in the ARTG for legal supply in Australia, it can not be recommended for such purposes.
There are a number of products on the TGA listing with citrus scent and another (ARTG number: 350997) Citraguard - which has been approved for use. Citraguard is a different product to and should not be confused with Citrozine.
Like @phb, I can find no evidence there is any merit to ‘CitroZine(r)’ beyond it being a cleaning product.
Without further evidence explicitly citing sources this claim could fall under the category of misinformation or at least a misinterpretation of the product.
I read the linked documents that are circa 2003~6(!) save for 1, that are well before COVID-19, and have found no reference to Citrozine(r) testing or any TGA test. Citrofresh(r), the tested product, is reported as a general cleaning/disinfecting agent, to wit ‘a broad range/spectrum sanitizer (fungicidal and bactericidal)’ as is another, Citroshield(r), a hospital grade disinfectant tested against Murine hepatitis virus (MHV1) ATCC/VR-261 - not COVID-19.
References to results on HSV-1, HSV-2, Herpes, H5N2 and so on have no bearing on COVID-19.
The Eurofins letter states Murine hepatitis virus (MHV1) is an accepted surrogate for COVID-19 for testing disinfectants. It does not state the TGA tested CitroZine(r) or CitroFresh(r) for COVID-19 but linked it through MHV1.
My conclusion is there is no evidence CitroZine(r) or any of the CitroLife(r) products have any documented or tested efficacy regarding COVID-19 although there is demonstrated value on other bacteria and some viruses.
Perhaps your original conclusion may be a step beyond what it is? No hits for CitroFresh(r) and COVID-19, but a report that might inform about the company. (hot linked)
The PDF named “COA-COVID-19-SARS” is not about disinfection of COVID but a substitute. They claim that according to the TGA the virus tested Murine Hepatitis Virus is an adequate substitute for COVID19 for testing disinfectants. This checks out on the relevant TGA page.
So the product tested “Citroshield Hospital grade disinfectant concentrate” looks like it is a good disinfectant for COVID19. Is that the product that you are using?
It is odd that the makers, having gone to the trouble of getting Citroshield tested against COVID, do not say in their advertising that it is suitable for that purpose. Did you happen to ask why?
And, the TGA number on this test sheet isn’t associated with an TGA approval for use for COVID-19, but an Australian manufacture approved by the TGA for the laboratory which carried out the testing.
From the TGA website links provided above, Citrozine hasn’t been approved by the TGA as a disinfectant for use for Covid-19.
If the company is making such claims publicly, then possibly they should be reported to the TGA to investigate and take action, if necessary.
That product was not tested. If you assume that the maker is doing badge engineering (selling the same active ingredient at the same strength under different names) it might be suitable, if it isn’t the same you have no idea if it works on COVID. The upshot is we don’t know if it is suitable or not.
While Citraguard has been approved by the TGA as one of the disinfectants for use against COVID-19 in the ARTG for legal supply in Australia, the same can not be said for Citrozine or Citroshield. The composition of these products are different and one can’t assume that each will perform equally, without appropriate testing and TGA approval.
Please note that Citrozine or Citroshield is currently not approved for use for Covid-19 and as such can not be recommended as a disinfectant for Covid-19.
It is worth noting that if such products were used by a business operating under a Covid Safety Plan, the business may be seen to be operating outside their Covid Safety Plan and could be subject to enforcement action by the relevant statutory authority.
I cannot find Citroshield on the TGA list which explains why there are no such claims in the advertising material. As the test was reported in March 2021 I wonder why it isn’t approved.
Since COVID-19 is a mostly airborne virus I wonder if it’s worth knocking yourself out surface cleaning?
There was an interesting podcast from Doherty Institute about how they worked with RMH and engineers to study air movement in the wards and concluded that domestic air cleaning machines were effective in reducing spread.
Buising, K., Schofield, R., Irving, L., Keywood, M., Stevens, A., Keogh, N., . . . Marshall, C. (2021). Use of portable air cleaners to reduce aerosol transmission on a hospital coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ward. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 1-6. doi:10.1017/ice.2021.284