Not so friendly bacteria

 Announced that its trials “with a very forwardthinking NHS Trust” had shown not only a “visible improvement in cleanliness”, but equally, “in scientific tests”, elimination of harmful bacteria, using ‘friendly’ bacteria in the latest variant of its “simple, inexpensive” cleaning fluid, Chemzyme Plus. Sean Derrig, scientific director, said: “Our research with the London Ambulance Trust this Summer proved that employing ‘friendly’ bacteria in a cleaning product, rather than harsh chemicals, drove out the bacteria present at the start of the trial that can be harmful to humans. The ‘bad’ bacteria were completely eradicated, and the good ones did a very good job of eating dirt and grime as well.” Sean Derrig explained that the “friendly” bacteria in Chemzyme Plus “chased out germs”, and formed a protective biofilm “tougher than Teflon” – a “competitive exclusion” system akin to that used in probiotic drinks. He added: “The trials confirmed that the bacteria strain used ‘fed’ on dirt, and ‘produced natural antibiotics’, which attacked and killed the harmful bacteria. We have been selling the Chemzyme product for some years now, but had not fully appreciated until now the bacteria-killing abilities of the Bacillus incorporated within it.”