September 24, 2008
Canada may allow diacetate in meat products to enhance food safety
In the wake of a listeria outbreak in meat products that killed 12 people in Canada, Health Canada officials have announced it will recommend amending laws to allow meat processors to use sodium diacetate and sodium acetate in ready-to-eat products.
In recent years, the chemical compound has been the subject for increased global research. Data gathered from government, private and academic studies have provided evidence of the efficacy of Soudium Diacetate as an inhibit for Listeria monocytogenes in meat and poultry products.
A recent outbreak in a Maple Leaf plant sickened dozens of consumers. Investigations concluded that the outbreak originated from an inaccessible corner of the facility's slicing machines.
Listeria contamination has been responsible for numerous recalls of food.
The use of the preservative would apply in standardized and non-standardized preparations of meat, meat by-products, poultry meat, poultry meat by-products, prepared and preserved fish products, at a maximum level usage of 0.25 percent of the final product weight.
This move allows meat processors to re-formulate ready-to-eat products with a combination of lactate (previously approved by Health Canada) along with diacetate as an antimicrobial in certain RTE products with the primary target being the control of growth of Listeria monocytogenes.
The combined use of the antimicrobials has been permitted in the US since 2000.
Sodium Diacetate generally serves three purposes - a pH control agent, a flavor enhancer and a mircobial inhibitor.
