Work revolutionizing
Sometimes a little idea blossoms into something huge.
Seven years ago, almond and olive grower Merritt Erickson, who calls himself a "creative thinker," could not imagine how far one of his ideas would go.
He said he does most of his thinking on a tractor.
Erickson started out wanting to create a way to keep raw olives stable enough to last year-round, so people could cure them at home at any time, he said.
Before, Erickson said, olives could only be cured during harvest season, because they do not store well.
So, off he went to California State University, Chico, to talk with his friend and chemistry professor James Postma.
With the help of three students, Postma developed formulas that not only preserve olives, but have extraordinary potential to replace harsh chemicals, such as chlorine, currently used to kill deadly pathogens on food, food equipment and much more.
Postma said the way it all happened "was a little spooky."
"Merritt came to me with this question: If someone wanted to cure their own olives, is there a way to preserve unprocessed olives?" Postma recalled.
They decided people who home-cure olives probably would want something organic. Postma suggested trying ascorbic acid — vitamin C — with vinegar.
"It worked remarkably well," he said. "After two months, we still had olives that were green and solid."
Erickson bankrolled the project by putting money into an account with the CSU, Chico Foundation.
"Whenever they needed more money, I gave it to them," he said.
To get the product ready for market was not cheap. Erickson sold 50 acres of olives and 70 acres of almonds to pay for everything. That leaves him with 25 acres of olives and 100 acres of almonds.
"It was sad," he said about selling part of the family farm. "But we knew we would be rewarded later."
After many tests and lots of trial and error, three recipes received FDA approval: olives; nut meats; and leafy greens, Erickson said.
The product kills E. coli and salmonella among other bacteria, fungi and mold, he said.
The FDA rated the Organic Chico Wash a Log 5, that means a 99.999 percent reduction in pathogens.
In experiments to determine effectiveness on organic fresh baby spinach, scientists at CMC Inc. compared the wash to a diluted bleach solution and to tap water.
The results were dramatic.
Organic Chico Wash recorded a 5-log reduction at 30 seconds and 90 seconds. The bleach and tap water each recorded 0-log reductions at both times.
Because of its effectiveness in killing bacteria, the solution also can be used as a pesticide.
"Anything that grows outside has contamination," Erickson said.
Ecoli, for example, gets passed onto vegetables when infected flies land on them.
"Ecoli sits on the surface" of the plant, Erickson said. Then, when it comes from the field into a processing plant, it gets spread through the equipment and throughout the plant.
Companies have been using chlorine to kill bacteria, but Erickson said that does not work.
He referred to incidents of contaminated lettuce and spinach making their way into stores and causing serious illness and death.
All the tests show that Organic Chico Wash does a better job of killing even the most harmful bacteria in the field, on the way to the processing plants and in the plants as well as after products are placed in stores or taken home, Erickson said.
One issue the product resolves is mold on cut stems. He said when the stems are dipped into the wash, mold does not grow, thereby keeping the contaminant out of plants where it can spread.
Add to that, Organic Chico Wash works as a preservative.
In an experiment, Erickson said his team bought prepackaged salad at a grocery store on the pull date. They applied the wash for 90 seconds, then rinsed it with water for 90 seconds.
"The salad was still bright and crisp two weeks beyond the pull date," he said.
Erickson also has talked walnut, almond and olive growers and processors who have shown interest in using the product.
On a recent trip to Portland, Ore., a group that deals with hazelnuts asked him to do some experiments for them.
It the wash works as well on hazelnuts as on the other nuts, they likely will start using Organic Chico Wash, Erickson said.
Going organic
Creating an organic product was important to Erickson. His almonds and olives already are certified chemical free, he said proudly.
The ingredients are all natural, food grade and do not contain genetically-modified organisms, commonly referred to as "GMO free."
The major ingredients are citric acid and ascorbic acid, which occur naturally in plants and animals.
One of the great things about Organic Chico Wash, Erickson said, is "it's not going to hurt you."
Because citric acid is being used as a sanitizer and anti-fungicide, the solution had to get approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
An EPA fact sheet provided to Organic Chico Wash states that products "containing citric acid in combination with other active ingredients, are used to kill odor-causing bacteria, mildew, pathogenic fungi, certain bacteria and some viruses; and to remove dirt, soap scum, rust, slime an calcium deposits."
The report also notes that "citric acid products are used in bathrooms, and in/on dairy and food processing equipment." Plus it is used in pesticides.
Erickson said his wife and business partner, Heidi Erickson, uses Organic Chico Wash throughout the house, including to clean the coffee pot. And, he used it to clean their shower heads; it got rid of all the build up, he said.
It seems possibilities for the product are almost endless. Erickson finds more and more uses all the time, he said.
He and his family have sprayed it on mosquito and spider bites, athletes foot and other skin irritations with great success. It takes away itching and swelling almost immediately, Erickson reported.
Among other uses, Erickson already has Caltrans set to use the wash as a janitorial product in rest areas and other locations throughout the state. He said a Caltrans representative told him Organic Chico Wash "got the fasted approval" of any product she'd ever seen.
Chico State is considering the product for janitorial purposes. Erickson said it is already approved for use in the campus food centers and student housing.
He is in the process of working a gel for the military, so soldiers can take into the field to prevent infections.
Eventually, he hopes to have FDA approval for cosmetic and veterinary uses as well.
Just an accident
"It all happened by accident," Erickson said. "Just like the light bulb. We were playing around."
They also have played around with labels and marketing. In an unusual marketing strategy, the word "Chico" incorporates a set of subscripted numbers by each letter.
Postma said, "that's what happens you let chemists do marketing."
Admitting the numbers have no significance, he said it is a way to show people that chemistry was involved and to show them not all chemicals are harmful.
"Everything is made of chemicals," he said.
Since the product is so new, it is only sold in one retail store right now. S&S Grocery in Chico sells 24-ounce spray bottles for a reduced introductory price of $3.99.
A gallon of concentrated wash makes 91 24-ounce bottles, Erickson said. With a gallon costing $90, it turns out to be just 99 cents a bottle. It also will be available in 55-gallon drums for industrial use.
Qm5 Inc. in Redding, a contract manufacturer that uses pharmaceutical-grade packaging, will handle the bottling, according to Erickson.
Right now, everything is done by hand in Ericksons workshop.
He can produce 277 gallons at a time. Then he hand labels the bottles, adds a squirt of wash concentrate and fills them with water. He has trouble keeping up with orders already, he said.
Erickson said he will ship supplies free within a 20-mile radius of Orland.
"We want every household to have it," he said.
When asked how he is dealing with the success, Erickson put his finger tips in his cheeks and gave a great big smile.
Contact Lydia Harris at 934-6800, 865-3110 or lharris@tcnpress.com
