Treatment to Inactivate Salmonella

When chickens arrive at processing facilities, they generally have high populations of bacteria, which can include Campylobacter or Salmonella in their viscera and externally on feathers and skin. During processing, such contamination is frequently transferred to processing equipment, other carcasses and final products. Regulators are requiring that more processing facilities conduct validation and verification of their intervention strategies and provide evidence that their intervention strategies are effective in controlling microbiological hazards. The objective of a UGA study at the Center for Food Safety in Griffin was to develop a practical, effective intervention to reduce Salmonella contamination on poultry skin and feathers during production and transport. Such an intervention must not adversely affect the animal's health and growth rates, and should be environmentally friendly. Now in its second year, the project evaluated three treatment approaches. Scientists found that treating poultry (including feathers and skin) and equipment surfaces with a combination of 3 percent levulinic acid plus 2 percent SDS either as a foam or liquid is an effective intervention technology to control Salmonella and possibly Camylobacter contamination, and reduce the total bacterial load. Results obtained from biofilm studies on chicken cages and whole chickens revealed that the levulinic acid plus SDS treatment, when used as either a liquid or foam, effectively removed and inactivated Salmonella populations within five minutes. This technology has been licensed by UGARF to HealthPro Brands.