A desperate need for sanitizers has driven people to look for options beyond the spray nozzle. For a couple of bakeries in New York, that means installing experimental lighting in their entryways that is supposed to disinfect pathogens without harming humans.
According to reporting by the New York Post, Magnolia Bakery plans to install lightbulbs that emit “far-UVC” light. For now, the bakery will place a metal detector-like arch — or “portal” — above their doorway that douses patrons in the UV rays. And the bakery told the Post it will replace lightbulbs inside its stores with these special varieties.
The glow cast on bakery customers is the product of years of research at Columbia University. So far, studies show this light does a good job of ruining the genetic material inside some pathogens, such as the H1N1 virus or the bacteria known as MRSA, all while leaving mammal skin cells relatively unharmed.
