Florist Industry Uses Chlorine Dioxide!
Perishable News recently carried a story called Best Practices For Fresh Cut Flowers. The article details several practices that professional florists abide by in their daily business. And wouldn’t you know it, the floral industry uses chlorine dioxide!
chlorine dioxide used with flowers!
The article recommends that florists regularly change their disinfectant solution used for sterilizing equipment. This includes everything from buckets to tabletops to sissors to coolers! Sure enough, listed among common disinfectants used by florists is chlorine dioxide. The article states that florists should change their disinfectant between handling of different batches and types of flowers. This sounds very much like the procedures that butchers and fish markets adhere to, with sandardized cleaning and sterilizing procedures in place. The article also mentions an interesting product which I had never heard of before reading about it here, and that is chlorine dioxide releasing paper! Apparently this paper is used as a liner in flower boxes and storage containers and cuts down on botrytis, a deadly plant fungus that florists have to fight. Apparently this chlorine dioxide ‘impregnated’ paper is a staple product for more than just flower growers, as well. You know that wad of paper stuffed into the toes of new shoes? Apparently that’s the same stuff, and it’s there to cut down on stinky feet fungus from people trying the shoes on. Who knew? One of the big players in this world of chlorine dioxide impregnated paper is Floralife, who makes a paper called TransportCARE. The paper has ‘compounds’ which release chlorine dioxide when exposed to humidity. Very interesting. It’s often fascinating to read about the intricacies of a particular profession and realize how complicated it is, even though to outward appearances it seems simple. And who would have thought that MMS and florists have something in common? We have written about MMS and plant care in our free report on MMS home uses. You can read more about this topic in that report, located in our media section.
