Peracetic Acid and Hydrogen Peroxide Post-dip Decay Kinetics on Red Meat and Poultry

Richard J. Walsh, Bruce White, Lauren Hunker, Oriana Leishman, John Hilgren, Deborah Klein Biblographic citation: Food Protection Trends, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 96-103, Mar 2018 Volume 38, Issue 2: Pages 96–103

Antimicrobial processing aids are used to mitigate the food safety risk from pathogens that may be present on poultry and beef products. Although ef cacy is well documented, post-application decay of the antimicrobial peracetic acid (and the equilibrium by-product hydrogen peroxide) has not been documented. This was the purpose of the study. Chicken and beef samples were dipped in solutions of > 2000 parts per million (ppm) peracetic acid for 30 seconds and then set on a drying rack for set time periods. After times ranging from 0.5 to 30 minutes, samples were assayed for residual peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide content. The assay consisted of immersing the sample in water and shaking for 30 seconds to recover the residue. The rinse water was then titrated to measure residuals. Exponential decay kinetics were used to predict the time at which < LOD was reached for peracetic acid and peroxide on both chicken and beef samples. Because ln(0) is unde ned, < LOD was de ned as 0.1 to t the model. Based on the tted models, peracetic acid levels reached < LOD at 27.9 minutes for chicken, with a 95% con dence interval of (26.2,30.0), and 3.5 minutes for beef, with a 95% con dence interval of (3.1,4,0). Hydrogen peroxide levels reached < LOD at 29.1 minutes for chicken, with a 95% con dence interval of (27.4,31.0), and 12.3 minutes for beef, with a 95% con dence interval of (10.7,14.5). These results support the use of up to 2000 ppm peracetic acid antimicrobial interventions as processing aids in meat and poultry operations, with no long-term residues.

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