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Meet the Team; A Q&A with the brains behind SanOT.
Our SanOT team consists of scientists, engineers and multi-faceted business professionals who are dedicated to manufacturing and supplying the safest possible alternative to current conventional health and sanitation products on the market, with the most competitive prices available. We supply the demand for highly effective sanitizing/disinfectant agents, with completely safe and eco-friendly products, with the safety and conservation of human, animal and environmental health being our top priority.
SanOT’s Hypochlorous Acid (HOCl) Solution is incredibly versatile and has many different applications some of which include:
- Agriculture and Aquaculture
- Air and Ventilation Disinfection
- Animal Husbandry and Veterinary
- Clean In Place and Pipe Disinfection
- Food (Fish, Meat and Poultry) Processing and Packing
- General Hand, Body and Surface Sanitation/Disinfection
- Health Care and Medical
- Household and Personal Care
- Industrial
- Mining, Oil and Gas
- Post-Harvest and Produce (Fruits, Grains and Vegetables) Processing and Packaging
- Public Transport
- Restaurants and Hospitality
- Water and Beverage Process Disinfection
- Wound Care
- And MORE..
Meet the brains behind this impressive operation:
Greg Taylor | (Molecular Biologist & Plant Biotechnologist)
1. How did SanOT go from brain-child to the biggest producer of HOCl in Africa?
We have been utilizing Hypochlorous acid as our preferred disinfectant in our other company’s laboratories for a few years and were always well aware of its incredible properties and efficacy against microorganisms, but we had been paying exorbitant prices for it. When the Covid-period came around, we saw a huge opportunity to supply Hypochlorous acid to the market as a safer and highly effective alternative to alcohol sanitisers. We understood that the only way that we would have a potential to compete was by supplying this product to the market at better prices than any alcohol sanitiser, which required us to set up the largest manufacturing facility in Africa.
2. What do you attribute your success to?
Hypochlorous acid is not a completely new product to the international market, and has in fact been around since world war 1. Since it is 100% biodegradable, until recently, it was never able to be a marketable product due to it having an incredibly short shelf-life (as low as 4 hours from production). Using advanced next-generation electrolytic cells in complement with a state-of-the-art processing system we have managed to synthesise Hypochlorous acid with incredible purity and metastability, making it possible to be a marketable product. We were able to do this by not only focusing on the actual manufacturing processes but also by supplying the highest quality ingredients into our systems.
Additionally, compared to many competitor products on the market, we have a substantially lower concentration of residual salt in our final products, which enables them to be used in agricultural and wound-care applications.
3. Why do you think SanOT fills a gap in the market?
It is an incredibly safe, eco-friendly, non-toxic and highly effective disinfectant that is able to be used across a broad range of industries.
In terms of general hand and surface sanitisers, Hypochlorous acid has a number of benefits when compared to alcohol sanitisers:
- Firstly Hypochlorous acid and alcohols work very differently when it comes to disinfecting:
- Hypochlorous acid is an oxidizing agent that chemically reacts with microorganisms to destroy their cell membranes, disrupt their basic cell functions and deproteinizes cells. This oxidation occurs immediately upon contact between the cells and HOCl.
- Whereas alcohol does not chemically react with microorganisms cells, but rather changes their environments and causes them to dehydrate as well as neutralises and cause their proteins to unfold, which kills many (but not all) types of microorganisms present.
- HOCl is effective at low concentrations (as low as 0.00005%) and takes seconds to destroy microbes but alcohol requires extended periods of exposure to be effective.
- Compared to alcohol which is only an effective antimicrobial agent at concentrations between 60% to 90%. If it is not in this range of concentration then it may have little to absolutely no effect on destroying microbes.
- The process of producing hypochlorous acid is a greener and safer process, only requires water, pure salt (NaCl) and electricity.
- The alcohols used in these disinfectants should not be mistaken with drinking (food grade) alcohol, and may cause more harm to your body
- Short-term alcohols are dehydrating and damaging to your skin (causing psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis, rosacea, etc...) and can trigger allergic responses
- The indirect risk of excessive alcohol exposure
- One important factor to note is that Alcohols are very effective at penetrating through human cells (including skin cells). At the same time, alcohol is a powerful solvent!
- This means that many of the toxins, carcinogens, and poisonous compounds (such as pesticides, insecticides, pollution) that sit on your skin (which would otherwise be rinsed off with water) are getting dissolved and carried into your body every time you use alcohol hand sanitizer.
- There are serious direct and indirect toxic (and even carcinogenic) side effects caused by excessive exposure to some of these alcohols, never mind the additional ingredients found in sanitizers. These toxic effects occur on your organs (mainly your liver and kidneys), cardiac system (heart, blood cells, veins and arteries) and your CNS (Central Nervous System); especially for pregnant woman, as well as developing babies, children and teenagers where the negative side effects can be irreversible.
- Most alcohol sanitizers are dangerous to animals and the environment and their contents can be polluting.
- Alcohols are hazardous and flammable and need special care when handling and storing
- Many people (and children) have been consuming these alcohol sanitizers which often ends up being fatal.
- Lastly, above all of the benefits of Hypochlorous acid in place alcohol sanitizers, our solutions are cheaper and much more affordable
4. Why are safe, sustainable and environmentally conscious products important in this day and age?
We are moving into a world that is much more health-focused and eco-conscious, so it only makes sense to supply complementary products to the market.
Hypochlorous acid is recognized as “Nature's Disinfectant” for these exact reasons; it is 100% natural, environmentally friendly, completely biodegradable, non-toxic, non-hazardous and safe for plants, animals and humans (including children and people with sensitive skin), making it the ideal candidate for modern sustainable products.
Tayron Taylor | (Mechanical Engineer)
1. What was your mission with SanOT at the outset?
To set an international standard for premium quality disinfectants suitable for use across a broad range of industries.
When setting up our facility, we intended on setting up the most advanced system of its kind. We believe that everybody has the right to have access to hand and surface sanitisers that are safe and come with no detrimental side effects, such as those effects incurred from excessive alcohol sanitiser exposure. The only way we saw this being possible was by producing an exceptional, premium quality product in massive quantities allowing us to market it with some of the most competitive prices on the market.
Additionally, Hypochlorous acid is new to most people and everyone has had their minds set on the basic government recommendation of +70% alcohol sanitisers, so we knew there would be some barriers to entry of market, which is why we went the extra mile in certifying and qualifying our products through various local and international labs and accreditation bodys. For instance we have completed our VC8054 SANS antimicrobial tests to prove that our products are effective against bacteria, spores, yeasts and fungi, as well as our EN14476 antiviral tests which prove that it is effective against viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and others.
2. Where do you see SanOT in the next 5 years?
SANOT500 Hypochlorous solutions being household names and being integrated into peoples daily lives from general hand and surface disinfection, to rinsing foods prior to eating, as well as dental and wound care.
Our product San-O-Tizer will not only be present on the shelves of all major retail outlets but will be utilized in place of most other sanitisers at the entrance of malls, shopping centres, offices, etc…
3. How has SanOT seen the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to strengthen itself?
We started this company with the intention of supplying an incredibly effective yet highly safe and non-toxic sanitiser that does not come with all the negative side effects of alcohol sanitisers. Since completing international studies on the efficacy of our products against viruses (including SARS-CoV-2), we have been able to address and counteract the backlash that many people presented us with, since our products contain no alcohol (or any other chemicals).
4. How do you plan on expanding the SanOT brand in the near future?
Going into this venture we wanted to set the standards for premium quality Hypochlorous acid products, competitive on an international scale. To achieve this we brought in one of the most advanced reactors in the world, which is also the largest in Africa, and combined it with proprietary next-generation reverse-osmosis and processing systems. Prior to launching our products we set out to optimise our processes using the highest quality inputs to ensure the highest possible quality output, otherwise known as SANOT500.
Additionally, not only do our products meet all the basic Government disinfection requirements (SANS51276), it has also been lab-tested and proven to be 99.999% (Log5) effective against bacteria and spores (Medical Grade). It is proven effective against bacteria, spores, and fungi against the following standards: SANS51650, SANS53794, SANS53727, and SANS53624. Furthermore, unlike most disinfectants in RSA, San-O-Tizer has been lab-tested in Europe (According to FDA and EU Standards) for its Virucidal (Anti-viral) activity, and has been proven to be effective at destroying deadly viruses such as Coronavirus, Herpes, Pox, Influenza, Mumps, and much much more (EN14476)!!! It is one of the few products that have these tests to back up claims for efficacy against SARS-CoV-2.
Looking ahead, we are well geared for rapid growth and expansion across a number of industries, mainly focused on general hand and surface disinfection, agriculture and animals husbandry. Education is a big focus of ours, which will help open peoples eyes to the wonders of this incredible product. I believe that our products will be integrated into most peoples daily practices
Visit our website to find out more about SanOT products and their many versatile applications in different industries across South Africa or click below to request a quote for your business today!