Source:  Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 6/11/10

Using a cleansing solution composed of lauric acid and potassium hydroxide was effective in removing foodborne pathogens from eviscerated chicken carcasses, according to a study by Agricultural Research Service scientists.

The agency said in a news release data produced by the study, published in the International Journal of Poultry Science, could help poultry producers in formulating practical, non-chlorine-based sanitizers. ARS is searching for alternatives to chlorine rinses because other countries do not use them in poultry processing. Russia, for example, has banned imports of poultry treated with chlorine since Jan. 1, effectively banning all U.S. poultry shipments.

The lauric acid-potassium hydroxide cleanser could be used to sanitize chicken carcasses during processing prior to chilling.

The research was conducted by ARS microbiologist Arthur Hinton, Jr., and physiologists John Cason and R. Jeff Buhr at the Richard B. Russell Research Center in Athens, Ga. They conducted a series of studies to determine the best way to use mixtures of lauric acid and potassium hydroxide to clean poultry carcasses.

Initial studies entailed spray-washing carcasses with different concentrations of the cleanser. Results demonstrated that upping the concentration of lauric acid to 2 percent potassium hydroxide to 1 percent of the solution generally removed more bacteria, indicating that concentration is an important consideration when using it as a sanitizer.

Another series of studies involved using varying spray pressures (60, 100 and 150 pounds per square inch) and concluded that pressure did not have a significant effect on reducing bacterial contamination.

But later the researchers tested the effect of time on the ability of the spray-washing to reduce bacterial contamination of carcasses. Hinton found that increasing the amount of time the carcasses were sprayed from 5 to 15 or 30 seconds resulted in significantly reduced bacterial contamination.

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