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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #313723
Title: Mitigating the impact of sanitizer carry-over on pathogen monitoring

Author
item Gamble, Gary
item Berrang, Mark
item Hinton Jr, Arthur

Submitted to: International Association for Food Protection Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/23/2015
Publication Date: 7/25/2015
Citation: Gamble, G.R., Berrang, M.E., Hinton Jr, A. 2015. Mitigating the impact of sanitizer carry-over on pathogen monitoring. International Association for Food Protection Proceedings. July 25-28, 2015. Portland, Oregon. (Suppl A):170-171.

Interpretive Summary: none

Technical Abstract: A number of sanitizer solutions are utilized in poultry processing to aid in reducing or destroying pathogenic bacteria. Post-treatment pathogen monitoring may lead to false-negative results due to carry-over of sanitizer to the analyzed rinse solution. This study was conducted to determine the suitability and effectiveness of a variety of neutralizing agents for common sanitizer solutions exhibiting carry-over. Chicken carcasses were rinsed in Buffered Peptone Water (BPW) spiked with varying concentrations of neutralizer targeted to a specific sanitizer. To this solution sanitizer was added to represent the high limit concentration encountered in processing. Each of the resulting solutions were subsequently inoculated with Salmonella typhimurium at 107 CFU/ml and stored for 24 hours at 4oC. After 24 hours, Salmonella were enumerated by serial dilution and plating on BG Sulfa agar. Enumeration of Salmonella exhibited a mean log CFU/ml by direct plating sufficiently large to indicate complete neutralization of sanitizer efficacy in the case of Quaternary Ammonium Compounds, Peroxyacetic Acid, and Acidified Sodium Chlorite by using appropriate neutralizing agents added to BPW at defined concentrations. Findings indicate that the impact of intervention solutions commonly used in poultry processing upon pathogen monitoring may be cost-effectively mitigated by incorporation of appropriate neutralizing agents in carcass rinse solutions. Use of these neutralizers in rinse solutions used for pathogen monitoring will negate the impact of sanitizer carry-over.