The impact of lamb cleanliness and line speed on the effectiveness of steam vacuum and carcass wash as decontamination methods after slaughter

Abstract

This study assessed the effectiveness of steam vacuum and carcass wash in decontaminating lamb carcasses by measuring Enterobacteriaceae, total viable counts (TVC), and visible contamination. In addition, different levels of fleece cleanliness and different line speeds were evaluated for each group. The sampling covered four groups: i) control, ii) steam vacuum, iii) carcass wash, and iv) steam vacuum and carcass wash. A total of 660 surface swabs were collected: i) before treatment, ii) after treatment, and iii) 24 hours post chilling. The results showed that Enterobacteriaceae and TVC means were significantly lower (P<0.001) on the steam vacuum group compared to the other groups, both after treatment and after chilling. Conversely, the carcass wash was effective in removing visible contamination but not significant on microbial reduction. There was a significant difference (P<0.001) between line speeds on TVC means, but not on Enterobacteriaceae means. Cat 3 unshorn lambs yielded carcasses with the lowest Enterobacteriaceae means, but with greatest TVC means and wool contamination.

The Use of Organic Acids (Lactic and Acetic) as a Microbial Decontaminant during the Slaughter of Meat Animal Species: A Review

“…Reference [77] explain that the influence of the steam solution temperature and carcass temperature can also be enhanced by increasing the pressure of the applicator; increasing the application pressure of the organic acid applicator achieved a log reduction of between 1 and 2 logs of aerobic microorganisms in raw meat [34]. This was confirmed by [78,79] where higher pressure yielded better microbial decontamination of Campylobacter on carcass surfaces. It can be accepted that there is no perfect system(s) that could guarantee the total elimination of microorganisms on meat surfaces during slaughter.…”