June 17, 2010

Spray washing chicken carcasses with a solution of lauric acid and potassium hydroxide could help processors design practical and non-chlorine-based sanitisers, said the US Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

The body, which is part of the USDA, said the work was carried out as part of its mission to develop alternatives to chlorine rinses - which are banned in the EU. Poultry treated with chorine sanitisers have been outlawed in the EU since 1997 in what has become one of the longest-running trade disputes between the two economic powers.

The study found that using the cleansing solution to wash eviscerated chicken carcasses was effective in eliminating bacteria that cause human foodborne diseases.

Researchers conducted a series of tests and concluded the cleanser, comprised of lauric acid and potassium hydroxide, could be used to disinfect chicken carcasses during processing prior to chilling.

The study said alkaline salts of lauric acid are soaps that can cut microbial contamination by acting as surfactants that help remove bacteria from meat surfaces. It added that since fatty acids already have GRAS status that are normally found in food, their use should not raise the same health concerns as chlorine-based washes. These substances have been banned in Europe on concerns over the formation of human carcinogens in the meat.

The 13-year EU ban on chlorine treated poultry escalated last year when the US asked the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to adjudicate on the matter. The US lost patience with its EU counterparts after a request in 2002 to lift the ban was ignored. Brussels also refused to change it stance even though the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said in 2008 the banned chemicals were safe to use in poultry processing.