On-site generated peroxy acetic acid (PAA) technology reduces Salmonella and Campylobacter on chicken wings

Abstract

Peroxyacetic acid ( PAA ) is a widely used antimicrobial during poultry processing that requires to be shipped in a concentrated solution, stored under hazardous conditions and diluted for use. On-site PAA generation using nonhazardous ingredients can help eliminate transportation and storage issues at the processing plant and reduce the risk of occupational hazards. The objective of the proposed research was to 1) evaluate the efficacy of on-site generated PAA in reducing Salmonella and Campylobacter populations compared to the commercially available PAA stock solutions and 2) to perform color measurements to evaluate any deviations between treatments. PAA solutions at 50 and 100 ppm were used for treating the chicken wings. Fresh chicken wings (0.45 kg) were inoculated with a cocktail of nalidixic acid resistant Salmonella Typhimurium ( STNR ) and gentamicin resistant Campylobacter coli (CCGR) and immersed in PAA solutions (50 and 100 ppm) adjusted to pH 8.5 and 10.0 or 10.5, for either 10 s or 60 min. Treated chicken wings were rinsed for 1 min in chilled BPW (100 mL), serially diluted and plated on APC Petrifilm for Salmonella , spread plated on Campy-cefex agar supplemented with gentamicin (200 ppm) for Campylobacter enumeration. Immersion of chicken wings in 100 ppm PAA for 60 min irrespective of pH levels and PAA solutions resulted in greater microbial reductions ( P < 0.05) of Salmonella by 1.68 and 1.42 log CFU/mL for SaniDate, 1.82 and 1.83 log CFU/mL for OxyFusion (on-site generated). For the same treatments, Campylobacter reductions of 1.59 and 1.36 log CFU/mL for SaniDate, 1.63 and 1.71 log CFU/mL for OxyFusion were achieved. The antimicrobial efficiency of PAA was not affected by pH and type of PAA solution. No significant differences ( P > 0.05) in color were observed between treatments and controls. On-site generated PAA provides poultry processors an effective, safer, and less hazardous alternative to commercially available PAA solutions, ensuring poultry workers’ health and safety.

Interventions to reduce Salmonella and Campylobacter during chilling and post-chilling stages of poultry processing: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The greater effectiveness of PAA seen in this meta-analysis compared with chlorine could be due to several factors. First, changes in pH have less of an influence on the effectiveness of PAA than on chlorine ( Kataria et al, 2020 ; Vaddu et al, 2021a , b ). This is useful because poultry processors prefer using higher pH values in the primary chiller (≥8.0 pH) to prevent moisture loss from carcasses and to improve carcass yields ( Vaddu et al, 2021a ).…”

Antimicrobial Tolerance in Salmonella: Contributions to Survival and Persistence in Processing Environments

“…Furthermore, the authors argued that the surface to which pathogens were attached as affected by temperature (chilled vs. hot carcass surface) might have a significant effect on the efficacy of PAA. Nonetheless, over the past few decades, the activities of PAA on food-borne pathogens have been observed to be highly effective [20,22,36,37]. Bauermeister et al (2008) [20] tested different concentrations of PAA on poultry carcasses and observed that as little as 25 ppm of PAA could reduce Salmonella spp.…”

Application of peracetic acid by spray or immersion in chicken carcasses to reduce cross‐contamination in the slaughter process

“…However, these results should be validating in an industrial plant. It is necessary a method that measures the concentration of PAA in the post-cooling tank while the carcasses are being immersed successively, as well as the stability of the chemical agent (PAA) (Vaddu et al, 2021) in a real application. Besides that, must be tested the possible toxic effects of formulation (use of stabilizers such as HEDP) on the food and the environment.…”