The pathogen intervention system is a key part of poultry processing and is continuously evolving to meet regulations as well as to ensure safe products. A disinfection system that can use chemical disinfectants effectively and reduce and/or eliminate harmful byproducts is in demand more than ever. The goal of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of sonication (ultrasound) for inactivation of Salmonella, with and without a disinfection agent (chlorine, peracetic acid), in poultry chiller water.
Furthermore, food safety, poultry processing efficiencies, and natural resources (water and energy) are matters that poultry processors need to successfully manage to be viable in today's global food market. Improvements in one area can have a direct and/or indirect effect on the other. Thus, an innovative and economical disinfection system is a critical part of providing safe food.
The first part of this project was designed to determine the antimicrobial effects and efficiency of ultrasound inactivation of Salmonella typhimurium. The experiment was designed to investigate the ultrasonic effect of various power intensities, volumes, and exposure times with several repetitions. All ultrasound experiments were conducted in isothermal conditions to eliminate disinfection via indirect heat input from the ultrasonic probe.
The data from the Salmonella inoculated water tests showed a correlation between an increase in ultrasonic energy, increase in exposure time, and decrease in volume that led to better disinfection of Salmonella. The data demonstrates that ultrasound can be used to inhibit Salmonella growth. However, the extent of disinfection from the ultrasonic energy magnitude was not significant enough to be used as the only means of disinfection.
This study also evaluated the effectiveness of ultrasound and chemical disinfection agents (chlorine or peracetic acid (PAA)) in Salmonella inoculated water, simulated chiller water, and actual poultry chiller water. Based on previous results, a volume of half liter and a single ultrasonic energy were selected to determine the synergistic effects in most tests.
The synergy effect for chlorine (1.66, 3.32 and 4.98ppm) and PAA (0.75, 1.5 and 2.25ppm) in water was evaluated by assessing the disinfection agents with approximately 40kJ of ultrasonic energy (65W for 10 minutes) in Salmonella inoculated water. When comparing the data of chemical disinfection with the combination of ultrasonic and chemical, the disinfection was greater for the combined system than the disinfection observed with chemicals only.
Click here to see more...