The Implementation and Food Safety Issues Associated With Poultry Processing Reuse Water for Conventional Poultry Production Systems in the United States

Abstract

As human populations increase in numbers, access to clean, fresh water is becoming increasingly difficult to balance between agricultural and municipal demands. Water scarcity is a limiting factor of food production in many countries, whether they are emerging or established economies. In conventional poultry processing systems, access to water is particularly critical for the maintenance and disinfection of processing areas, as well as in processing operations such as scalding, chilling, and carcass washing. Therefore, poultry processing plants use an excessive amount of water, limiting where facilities can operate, increasing overhead costs, and ultimately resulting in potential environmental concerns. The need for sustainable alternatives to single-use water supplies is becoming increasingly more urgent. As a result, the implementation of water reuse in poultry-processing plants has emerged as an attractive alternative means to meet water requirements during processing. Because the water is reused, it is essential to decontaminate the water with chemicals, such as peracetic acid and chlorine, and improve water filtration strategies to kill and remove potential pathogens and contaminants. However, questions remain as to the efficacy of commonly used disinfectants to achieve that goal. Thus, novel strategies must be developed to improve the capabilities of poultry processing plants to counter water insecurity worldwide. These new stratagems must be economical and enable poultry processing plants to reduce their environmental footprint while meeting new food safety challenges. The current review will focus exclusively on water reuse in conventional poultry processing in the United States. The specific objectives of this review are to discuss the approaches for treating processing water in poultry processing systems, including reuse water systems, as well as investigate possible substitutes for maintaining food safety.

Comparison of Acid Sanitizers on Salmonella Typhimurium Inoculated Commercial Poultry Processing Reuse Water

“…Water scarcity continues to be a global concern (Beekman, 1998;Casani et al, 2005;Meneses et al, 2017;Faour-Klingbeil and Todd, 2018). By 2025 almost half of the world's population will face severe clean water scarcity issues (Alcamo et al, 1997(Alcamo et al, , 2000Micciche et al, 2018). Factors impacting water scarcity include climate change, shifts in the human diet, and an increase in water use for industrial processing (Meneses et al, 2017).…”

Source of Water and Potential Sanitizers and Biological Antimicrobials for Alternative Poultry Processing Food Safety Applications

“…To prevent microbial contamination during poultry processing from any source, chlorine-based sanitizers have been traditionally used due to cost-effectiveness (Northcutt and Jones, 2004 (Casani et al, 2005;Micciche et al, 2018a). In areas with high organic matter, such as a chiller tank, chloroform as a disinfection byproduct can be formed which poses additional worker health concerns (Tsai et al, 1992;Casani et al, 2005).…”

“…The other traditional chemical sanitizer utilized in conventional poultry processing that is also used in organic poultry production is PAA (Bauermeister et al, 2008;Micciche et al, 2018a;National Organic Program, 2018). The antimicrobial PAA is a synthetic substance approved for organic livestock production and has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use up to 2,000 ppm (21 CFR 173.370) (Kim et al, 2017;Micciche et al, 2018a;National Organic Program, 2018).…”

“…The other traditional chemical sanitizer utilized in conventional poultry processing that is also used in organic poultry production is PAA (Bauermeister et al, 2008;Micciche et al, 2018a;National Organic Program, 2018). The antimicrobial PAA is a synthetic substance approved for organic livestock production and has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use up to 2,000 ppm (21 CFR 173.370) (Kim et al, 2017;Micciche et al, 2018a;National Organic Program, 2018). Studies have demonstrated that its acidifying properties and membrane oxidation capabilities are effective in inhibiting Salmonella and Campylobacter contamination of poultry products (Kitis, 2004;Oyarzabal, 2005;Bauermeister et al, 2008;Mani-Lopez et al, 2012).…”

“…In the chiller tank 200 ppm PAA, along with hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), did not impact sensory characteristics of poultry products (Bauermeister et al, 2008). Despite its ability to reduce pathogen concentrations without negatively impacting product quality, PAA is caustic to exposed skin and respiratory systems of personnel and can be corrosive to equipment (Casani et al, 2005;Peracetic acid-MSDS, 2013;Micciche et al, 2018a). Peracetic acid also degrades to water, oxygen, and acetic acid (Kitis, 2004;Warburton, 2014).…”