Food Protection Trends - October 2008 - (Page 719)

TABLE 7. E. coli and TVCs of knife blades1 (n = 230) rinsed and sanitized under the current system (single knife dipped in 82°C water) and under the alternative system (a 2-knife system using 60°C water) on the beef floor – adapted from Eustace et al. 2007 (13) Operations E. coli* Current system Hide incision and clearing Head processing Evisceration Trim and inspection Totals and means 1 Mean log TVC/cm2 Alternative system 14/110 1/30 4/50 2/40 21/230 Current system 2.2 3.7 1.7 1.7 2.2 Alternative system 2.0 1.4 1.7 1.8 1.8 13/110 2/30 4/50 1/40 20/230 Blades swabbed with Whirlpak sponges; E. coli enumerated on E. coli/Coliform Petrifilm at 37°C for 2 days, TVCs on APC Petrifilm at 20–25°C for 3 days Number of knives testing positive for E. coli out of 10 knives sampled at each station * TABLE 8. E. coli and TVCs of knife blades1 (n = 130) rinsed and sanitized under the current system (single knife dipped in 82°C water) and under the alternative system (a 2-knife system using 60°C water) on the mutton floor (alternative system) — adapted from Eustace et al. 2007 (13) Station E. coli* Current system Pelt incision and clearing Evisceration and viscera processing Totals and means 1 Mean log TVC/cm2 Alternative system 11/70 18/60 29/130 Current system 1.7 2.2 1.95 Alternative system 1.8 1.5 1.7 7/70 17/60 24/130 Blades swabbed with Whirlpak sponges; E. coli enumerated on E. coli/Coliform Petrifilm at 37°C for 2 days, TVCs on APC Petrifilm at 20–25°C for 3 days Number of knives testing positive for E. coli out of 10 knives sampled at each station requirements of the controlling authority at the time. In Tables 7 and 8 are presented comparisons of the disinfection efficacy of the two systems on knife blades on the beef and sheep floors, of an Australian abattoir. For beef slaughter and dressing (Table 7) the overall mean log TVC/ cm2 on sanitized knives was 2.18 by the current knife sanitizing process and 1.78 by the alternative procedure. This constituted a significant overall difference in average log TVC/cm 2 (P < 0.001). However, this difference between the procedures was not consistent for all work stations; significantly larger differences were observed at tongue drop, head inspection and head boning stations, where the alternative procedure was much more effective, than at legging, evisceration or trimming. No significantly higher average log TVC/cm2 values were observed with the alternate procedure at any of the 23 work stations. With use of the current system, E. coli was isolated from sanitized knives on 20/230 (8.7%) occasions, compared with 21/230 (9.1%) occasions with use of the alternative system. The mean log E. coli of positive knives (after sanitizing) was 0.43/cm2 and 0.61/cm2 with use of the current and alternative systems, respectively. * tem, each operator was provided with two knives, one in use on the carcass and the other immersed in water at 60°C at any one time. The temperature of immersion water (60°C) was selected arbitrarily by abattoir management as one which, if it could be shown to provide an equivalent outcome to 82°C water, would be advantageous for both economic and operator safety reasons. The evaluation was carried out according to a design in which, when the alternative system was being tested, knives always received a final treatment with 82°C water before being used on carcasses, in order to comply with the OCTOBER 2008 | FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS 719

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Food Protection Trends - October 2008 Contents Sustaining Members Perspectives from Your President Commentary from the Executive Director Employee Motivators for Following Food Safety Practices: Pivotal Role of Supervision Knife Sanitizing in Abattoirs: The Effectiveness of Current and Alternative Practices Call for Nominations – 2009 Secretary Call for Awards – IAFP 2009 New Members Updates Industry Products Coming Events Advertising Index Journal of Food Protection Table of Contents Audiovisual Library Order Form Booklet Order Form Membership Application

Food Protection Trends - October 2008

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