Studies were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a commercial blend of sulfuric acid and sodium sulfate (SSS) in reducing Salmonella on inoculated whole chilled chicken wings and to compare its efficacy to peroxyacetic acid (PAA) and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC). Wings were spot inoculated (5 to 6 log CFU/ml of sample rinsate) with a five-strain mixture of novobiocin- and nalidixic acid-resistant Salmonella and then left untreated (control) or treated by immersing individual wings in 350 ml of antimicrobial solution. An initial study evaluated two treatment immersion times, 10 and 20 s, of SSS (pH 1.1) and compared cell recoveries following rinsing of treated samples with buffered peptone water or Dey/Engley neutralizing broth. In a second study, inoculated wings were treated with SSS (pH 1.1; 20 s), PAA (700 ppm, 20 s), or CPC (4,000 ppm, 10 s) and analyzed for survivors immediately after treatment (0 h) and after 24 h of aerobic storage at 4°C. Color and pH analyses were also conducted in the latter study. Recovery of Salmonella survivors following treatment with SSS (10 or 20 s) was not (P ≥ 0.05) affected by the type of cell recovery rinse solution (buffered peptone water or Dey/Engley neutralizing broth), but there was an effect (P < 0.05) of SSS treatment time. Immersion of samples for 10 or 20 s in SSS resulted in pathogen reductions of 0.8 to 0.9 and 1.1 to 1.2 log CFU/ml, respectively. Results of the second study showed that there was an interaction (P < 0.05) between antimicrobial type and storage time. Efficacy against Salmonella at 0 h increased in the order CPC , SSS , PAA; however, after 24 h of aerobic storage, pathogen counts of SSS- and PAA-treated wings did not differ (P ≥ 0.05). Overall, the results indicated that SSS applied at pH 1.1 for 20 s was an effective antimicrobial intervention to reduce Salmonella contamination on chicken wings.

Studies were conducted to (i) determine whether inoculants of nonpathogenic Escherichia coli biotype I effectively served as surrogates for E. coli O157:H7, non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, and Salmonella when prerigor beef carcass tissue was treated with a commercially available blend of lactic acid and citric acid (LCA) at a range of industry conditions of concentration, temperature, and pressure; (ii) determine the antimicrobial efficacy of LCA; and (iii) investigate the use of surrogates to validate a hot water and LCA sequential treatment as a carcass spray intervention in a commercial beef harvest plant. In an initial laboratory study, beef brisket tissue samples were left uninoculated or were inoculated (∼6 log CFU/cm(2)) on the adipose side with E. coli O157:H7 (5-strain mixture), non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (12-strain mixture), Salmonella (6-strain mixture), or nonpathogenic E. coli (5-strain mixture). Samples were left untreated (control) or were treated with LCA, in a spray cabinet, at one of eight combinations of solution concentration (1.9 and 2.5%), solution temperature (43 and 60°C), and application pressure (15 and 30 lb/in(2)). In a second study, the E. coli surrogates were inoculated (∼6 log CFU/cm(2)) on beef carcasses in a commercial facility to validate the use of a hot water treatment (92.2 to 92.8°C, 13 to 15 lb/in(2)) followed by an LCA treatment (1.9%, 50 to 51.7°C, 13 to 15 lb/in(2), 10 s). In the in vitro study, surrogate and pathogen bacteria did not differ in their response to the tested LCA treatments. Treatment with LCA reduced (P < 0.05) inoculated populations by 0.9 to 1.5 log CFU/cm(2), irrespective of inoculum type. The hot water and LCA sequential treatments evaluated in the commercial facility reduced (P < 0.05) the inoculated nonpathogenic E. coli surrogates on carcasses by 3.7 log CFU/cm(2). This study therefore provides the meat industry with data for this sequential multiple hurdle system for the operation parameters described.