Peroxyacetic acid (also known as peracetic acid or PAA) is a colorless liquid with a low pH and a strong, pungent, vinegar-like odor. PAA is commonly used as an antimicrobial agent for both non-porous hard surfaces and water in various industries, including agriculture, food processing, beverage, wastewater, hospitals, health care, and pharmaceutical facilities. It is approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for use in agricultural waters as a crop protection tool and is allowed under the National Organic Program (NOP) for the production of organic crops, livestock, and food handling (USEPA, 2012; NOP, 2016; USDA 2016). In Europe and the US, it has been used for many years in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) as an alternative to chlorinated compounds, due to concerns of the creation of potentially harmful disinfection by-products (DBPs) when chlorine-based compounds come into contact with organic matter (USEPA, 2012). More recently, PAA is quickly gaining interest as a treatment option for agricultural irrigation water to reduce potential pathogens, protect public health, meet new food safety guidelines, and reduce the environmental impact on soils and crops (Nguyen et al., 2014)
PAA is a strong oxidant and fast acting disinfectant with biocidal and viricidal properties (Kitis, 2004; USEPA, 2012). Commercially available solutions of PAA are a combination of aqueous mixtures of peroxyacetic acid, acetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and water at various concentrations with an added stabilizer to slow decomposition (Figure 1) (Profaizer et al., 1997; Nguyen et al., 2014; USDA, 2016). While hydrogen peroxide is also a disinfectant, PAA is a more active and potent antimicrobial agent (Profaizer et al., 1997; Kitis et al., 2004).
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