The drive by industry, retailers and fast food outlets to reduce food poisoning causative pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter and Listeria remain ongoing. Consumers demand safer food that can be consumed by their children and families in total peace of mind.
Poultry meat retailers are starting to increase their final product testing by focusing on “in abattoir tests” to ensure safe products in their stores and restaurants. Salmonella and E. coli, in particular, are some of the age-old problem pathogens that have received lots of attention in the market, health authorities and from consumers for being primary food poisoning pathogens. However, in recent times other pathogens such as Listeria and Campylobacter are also starting to attract attention for their causative role in food poisoning.
Apart from Listeria, the pathogens mentioned above are gut enterobacteria, and despite efforts made in the production chain to reduce their presence, they still slip through to the abattoir where they may enter the food chain when spread onto the carcass surface during evisceration and carcass wash. Foodpro®, a food-grade carcass sanitizer, offers a final barrier against these pathogens entering the poultry meat food chain. Foodpro® is an organic acid-based product made from food-grade raw materials and is registered with NRCS (Reg. No. Act5GNR529/292534/140/1037) who evaluated its micro kill efficacy. Foodpro® has also been proven by external laboratory testing to effectively reduce the levels of pathogens and spoilage bacteria. An added advantage is the reduction of spoilage bacteria such as Pseudomonas, helping producers to achieve or even exceed the required shelf life.
Application – Foodpro® is applied between the carcass wash and chiller as a fine spray, in a dilution of between 1:100 to 1:200 depending on the micro load and pathogen risk. The cost, if applied effectively, is between 3 – 5 cents per carcass.