About / Company
Clean Works was created by people who understood firsthand how a food safety event can affect an entire industry.
What began as a search for a better way to protect fresh apples has grown into a food safety technology used across products, processing environments, and applications around the world.
Where the idea began
Paul Moyer comes from a family that has been farming in Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula for generations. As part of the family business, Moyer’s Apple Products had also built a successful caramel apple operation.
Then a Listeria outbreak linked to caramel apples elsewhere in the industry changed the market almost overnight.
Moyer’s Apples was not implicated in the outbreak, but the effects reached the entire category. Product was removed from retail shelves, customers were concerned, and Paul saw firsthand how quickly a food safety event could impact businesses that had done nothing wrong.
He wanted a better way to protect his product and give customers confidence that the apples leaving his facility were safe.
There was one major challenge: the solution needed to work without water.
The research
Paul’s search for an alternative led to research being conducted by Dr. Keith Warriner at the University of Guelph.
Together with research and commercial partners, the team developed and refined a gas-phase process that uses hydrogen peroxide, ozone, and UV-C to generate highly reactive hydroxyl radicals.
The objective was initially straightforward: create an effective microbial intervention for apples without relying on a traditional water-based wash.
But as testing continued, it became clear that the technology could have applications far beyond caramel apples.
That work ultimately became Clean Works.
Our story
Industry-wide caramel apple food safety event
Waterless microbial treatment developed with university research
Tested across foods, microorganisms, and surfaces
Brought into commercial food processing
Extended across new products and applications
Awards
Clean Works has been recognized by industry, research, and innovation organizations for advancing food safety technology and developing a more practical approach to microbial control.
Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence
Ontario Centres of Excellence
International Association for Food Protection
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show
Watch
From a Niagara apple orchard to commercial processing lines: how a waterless intervention became Clean Works.
How we work
Clean Works sits at the intersection of food production, food safety, and science.
Our technology wasn’t developed in isolation and then introduced to the food industry. It was developed in response to an actual commercial food safety challenge.
That perspective continues to shape how we work today. We focus on solutions that are not only scientifically effective, but practical to integrate into real processing environments.
Our mission
Clean Works started with one grower trying to solve one problem.
Today, our goal is bigger: help the food industry build stronger microbial control into everyday operations while reducing its dependence on water-intensive interventions.
Because better food safety shouldn’t require choosing between efficacy, operational practicality, and sustainability.
