New teat disinfectant is “first of its kind”

With many teat disinfectants available in the UK dairy market, choosing one can be confusing. Explaining what makes Sapphire 1:4 unique, Evans Vanodine says chlorhexidine gluconate is an EU- and UK-regulated biocide that has been used for many years in the human care sector as an active material in hand disinfection. It is used by surgeons prior to entering an operating theatre to prevent contamination. Chlorhexidine gluconate’s effectiveness and skin safety is globally acknowledged and proven.

In the livestock sector, chlorhexidine gluconate has a history of use in ‘ready to use’ dairy teat disinfectants, but this application is limited by its chemical properties when exposed to high levels of mineral salts – in particular, but not limited to, water, containing sulphates and carbonates.

The presence of these minerals in water has prevented the practical development of a chlorhexidine gluconate concentrate teat disinfectant for dilution at point of use by the farmer, as when diluted in water which contains such minerals, chlorhexidine salts can precipitate out of the solution and become unstable, therefore reducing the effectiveness and performance. This effect removes the protection against mastitis-causing organisms and can cause a subsequent rise in somatic cells, which teat disinfectants normally help to prevent.

Evans Vanodine’s chemists, realising the importance of the high performance and relative cost stability of chlorhexidine gluconate when compared to traditional iodine-based teat disinfectants, undertook a multi-year project to find a technical solution to the precipitation problem of diluting chlorhexidine gluconate in hard water. Sapphire 1:4 is the result of this work, and in July 2022 Evans Vanodine launched the first, true, hard water stable chlorhexidine gluconate disinfectant in the UK.

The new formulation allows the concentrated product to be diluted at 1:4 anywhere in the UK, without the loss of performance that occurs when chlorhexidine gluconate is mixed in hard water, or water which contains high levels of sulphates. The intense blue colour of Sapphire 1:4 makes the product easily identifiable. It also contains an emollient system to guarantee high levels of teat skin condition.

Extensive microbiological testing under the relevant EU and UK biocide regulation test EN 1656, proves that Sapphire 1:4, when diluted, passes the required efficacy tests, and can be sprayed, dipped or foamed.

Sapphire 1:4 gives dairy farmers the option of switching to a new, safe, effective, and highly cost-efficient chlorhexidine gluconate-based teat disinfectant for pre- and post-milking, which the company says offers dairy farmers the confidence that environmental mastitis and high cell counts are a thing of the past.

To find out more about Evans Vanodine products, or for support reducing elevated bactoscans and high somatic cell counts, visit www.evansvanodine.co.uk