This study designed an in vitro model to test the efficacies of footbath sanitizers for use in dairy processing plants. Efficacies of selected sanitizers for inactivation of mixed-cocktail, dairy-relevant Gram-negative bacteria in model footbaths, in the presence of milk residues, were measured over 7 days against attached and planktonic populations by plate counting and calculating log reductions achieved. A simplified practical table ranked the most to least effective sanitizers. These included: biguanide/ QAC combination >
biguanide = accelerated hydrogen peroxide = ethanol/ sodium hydroxide combination >
phenolic compound = amine amphoteric compounds >
amphoteric surfactant >
diclosan = chlorine dioxide >
enzyme/ surfactants combination.