Method for disinfection

The process of disinfecting at least one of food, human beings, animals, and products to be brought in contact with one of food, human beings, and animals to combat microorganisms, comprising:

• providing a microbicidal composition comprised of an effective amount of at least one microbicide, which at least one microbicide is hydrolyzable at a pH-value ranging from about 6 to about 8.5 and is a long-chain alkyl ester compound having the general formula;
• ##STR6## wherein R.sup.I, R.sup.II AND R.sup.III are hydrogen or lower alkyl groups having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, R.sup.IV is a long-chain alkyl group having 10 to 18 carbon atoms, R.sup.V is hydrogen or a group having the formula R.sup.VI N.sup.+ H.sub.3, wherein R.sup.VI is an alkylene group having 3 to 4 carbon atoms, A is a monovalent counter ion, and n is a number of cationic groups in the long-chain alkyl ester compound;
• exposing microorganisms to the microbicidal composition to inactivate the microorganisms;
• and
• detoxicating the long-chain alkyl ester compound of the microbicidal composition by exposing the long-chain alkyl ester compound to a medium having a pH-value ranging from about 6 to about 8.5 to hydrolyze the ester bond of the long-chain alkyl ester compound and reduce the content of the long-chain alkyl ester compound to innocuous levels.