Comparison of sanitization efficacy of sodium hypochlorite and peroxyacetic acid used as disinfectants in poultry food processing plants

This study, we aimed to evaluate the in situ disinfection efficacy of peroxyacetic acid (PAA) and sodium hypochlorite (SH) against pathogens (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes in suspension, and food contact surfaces of steel and utensil. In the clean and contaminated conditions, as the concentrations of PAA and SH increased (0–200 ppm) for 1 min and 5 min, the viable count of pathogenic bacteria reduced. In particular, more than 7 log cycle reductions in the pathogen population were observed using 200 ppm PAA and 100 ppm SH, except for S. aureus in the latter. Four pathogenic bacteria spiked (5–6 log/mL), each on the surface of the main processing machine (stainless steel, n = 36), displayed over 6 log reduction after treatment with 100 ppm PAA for 5 min, which was more effective than SH treatment at similar conditions. To compare the sterilization effect, swab sampling (n = 27) before and after working with poultry on cutting boards, knives, and worktable was performed. E. coli, coliforms, and total bacteria were considerably reduced using 100 ppm of both PAA and SH. After five different treatment concentrations (0–200 ppm) at 4 °C for seven days, chicken breasts treated with 200 ppm PAA exhibited a significant (P < 0.05) inhibitory effect on the total bacteria (1.29 log10) and coliform group organisms (1.10 log10) populations compared with the control chicken breast. Overall, PAA treatment had an effective antimicrobial activity in fresh poultry samples. The microbiological safety of poultry is an important public health concern worldwide, thus, the use of PAA as a disinfectant will greatly contribute to the improvement of poultry microbial safety.