Surface Decontamination of Some Foodborne Pathogens at Bovine Carcasses

One green chemistry idea that has gained favor as a disinfection method is electrolyzed water technology. Electrolyzed water (EW) is a new technology that emerged in recent years with potential application in foods, mainly in the microbiological aspects, with variations in application techniques and time of exposure. In the current study, the antimicrobial effect of acidic, alkaline, and a mixture of electrolyzed water was assessed as fresh carcasses’ surface decontaminant agent after spraying and swab collection. For this purpose, 30 beef carcasses were used, ten carcasses for each group, where aerobic bacterial count (ABC) was investigated pre- and post- spraying; in the local abattoir of El-Shohadaa, Menoufia governorate, Egypt. Results revealed a significant reduction in the bacterial count in the treated groups rather than the pre-treated samples at (P<0.05); where the mean reduction (%) were 98.9, 97.3, and 99.8 for the treated samples with acidic EW, alkaline EW, and both alkaline and acidic EW, respectively. Referring to the obtained results, acidic EW showed a higher antibacterial effect than alkaline EW; whereas, using the alkaline EW followed by acidic EW revealed more decontamination effect than using each alone. So, EW proved that it is not only an inexpensive decontamination agent, but also kills microorganisms, and protects the environment from the adverse impacts of hazardous chemical disinfectants. Therefore, it is highly recommended to be used in the slaughterhouse as a surface decontamination technique.