[pct-l] failure of grapefruit seed extract to kill germs

[brick at fastpack.com (Brick Robbins)]

I am catching up on my reading, and I came across a report at a recent CDC 
meeting on infectious diseases (Atlanta, 31Mar - 4Apr 2003) that concerns 
the failure of grapefruit seed extract for sanitizing.

I know that some list members recommend using grapefruit seed extract for 
purifying water.

In Feb 2002, there was an outbreak of a skin disease caused by the bacteria 
Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Colorado.

The outbreak was traced to a salon using body wraps. Their method of 
sanitizing the wraps was washing in cold water with grapefruit seed 
extract. The bacteria was found in the wraps after they had been 
"sanitized." So, at least in this application, grapefruit seed extract 
didn't kill the bacteria. The CDC recommended washing the wraps in hot 
water, soap and bleach, or not reusing them.

Since cystic protozoa like Giardia and Crypto are much more difficult to 
kill chemically than bacteria, I think this outbreak of infectious disease 
traced to this failure of grapefruit seed extract to kill bacteria is a 
pretty good indication that it is NOT a good way to treat water.

Caveat Emptor
Brick