Poultry International - November 2013 - 40
40 Salmonella reduction slaughter plants. Some of the differences in chemicals used between plants are the result of incoming water chemistry at the plants, plant preferences, different bird sizes and baseline study results. Butterball uses interventions in sprays at the rehang table, brush cabinets and inside-outside bird washers, according to Washburn. Butterball spent a great deal of time evaluating which interventions work best for the company in its immersion chilling systems. At this time, all of the Butterball plants are using peroxyacetic acid in the chiller system, and the switch to peroxyacetic acid gave Butterball's Salmonella reduction efforts a big boost. Peroxyacetic acid also plays a role in the chiller sanitation program at two of the company's plants, which now hold water in their chilling systems for up to five days. This program means that chiller water is colder at startup, and this aids in microbial control. Butterball's Mount Olive, N.C., plant processes heavy toms, and the industry's largest immersion chilling system was redesigned to get the carcasses below 40 F, which requires a dwell time of about six hours. Control cross contamination Potter suggested using a team approach to take a fresh look at potential areas of cross-contamination. The pickers, picker finger type and design, rehang tables, evisceration equipment sanitation, adjustment and maintenance, hand washing, and employee equipment hygiene should all be studied. After the chiller Potter said that 75 to 80 percent of the U.S. broiler industry uses some kind of post-chill antimicrobial intervention as either a dip or spray. Butterball uses sprays for thighs, breasts, wings, drums and skin, ground turkey and mechanically separated turkey (MST). Various products are used in the post-chill sprays; each facility uses bromine, peroxyacetic acid or trisodium phosphate. Results show reduction in Salmonella The incidence of Salmonella-positive carcasses found in post-chill tests performed by Butterball at all four of its slaughter plants was reduced by more than 90 percent from 2006 to 2012. Post-chill tests administered by the USDA show similar decline. Similar significant declines in the incidence of Salmonella-positive ground turkey and MST samples have also been experienced. Ward presented data that showed how Tyson evaluates its plants and biomaps processes within plants. Tyson has made significant progress in reducing the incidence of Salmonella on post-chill broiler carcasses in the last 5-10 years. Potter suggested processors be flexible when configuring and designing processing lines, and management should be supportive of budgeted costs for microbiological sampling and testing, as it has to be done. The industry needs to recognize this as a cost of doing business. □
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