SteriFx Antimicrobial Solutions

A poultry-processing company in the Southeastern United States was struggling with post-chill Salmonella contamination rates of greater than 30 percent. Coupled with a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiative focused on reducing Salmonella rates in poultry, the company looked to SteriFx, Inc. for help.

By applying FreshFx antimicrobial solution at multiple points during processing, the plant saw 92 percent Salmonella rates at pre-scalder plummet to 34 percent post-pick and fall again to a remarkable 3 percent post-chill. The samples were gathered by the processing company and analyzed by an independent laboratory.

“To reduce Salmonella levels appropriately, it has been determined that no single-point intervention will succeed if the birds entering the plant have high numbers of Salmonella present,” says John R. Dankert, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of SteriFx. “Using FreshFx at multiple points during processing significantly lowers microbial counts and reduces cross- contamination.”

According to the USDA/FSIS, 16.3 percent of the 9,592 broiler samples from processing plants of all sizes in 2005 tested positive for Salmonella — an 80 percent increase over 2000 results. Much of this upward trend is attributed to the cross-contamination that occurs in the picker.

SteriFx has received USDA approval for use of FreshFx as a processing aid anywhere along the processing line, and can be applied as a spray or used as an immersion dip. FreshFx can also be used for On-Line Reprocessing (OLR). What’s more, because of the solution’s prolonged efficacy, FreshFx can be recycled back from the OLR application to either a pre-evisceration immersion tank, or back to the New York Rinse and then to the Pickers. This reuse permits multi-use/multi-application of the solution, providing an effective and economical means to reduce Salmonella.

Multiple antimicrobial interventions ultimately provide decreased contamination for the final product, as well as improved product quality, reduced water use, and minimized reprocessing labor. “FreshFx is non-toxic and will not ‘gas-off’ at higher temperatures like some other treatments do, which makes it very safe for processing plant workers and federal inspectors,” says Dankert. “It is a simple, concentrated solution that is diluted with water on-site, eliminating the need for any special mixing equipment or chemical reactions.”

The patented FreshFx formula is GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe), USDA approved, and will yield the kind of results that the marketplace is demanding to control not only Salmonella, but E. coli, Campylobacter, and Listeria in poultry processing.