Solubilised at 0.15% in the cleaning water used in the slaughtering process, it removes 95% of residues and undesirable germs on the surface of meat and processing by products of all types of animals (fowl, pork, cattle, horses, game, etc.).
It improves the hygienic and bacteriological quality of consumer meats, and extends the conservation life.
SAN-PEL^® is absolutely the first product that the competent health authorities have allowed to come in direct contact with foods. This contact, together with the GMP and HACCP programmes, has proven to guarantee complete hygienic safety on foods.
A brand new product, backed by an international patent, approved by the Ministry of Health, it conforms to the hygienic requirements defined in the European Community by the Veterinarian Scientific Committee (Public Health Section) for decontamination products allowed in slaughtering meat (final report VI/7785/96).

  

The skin of poultry raised for slaughtering may be considered one of the main sources of carcass contamination. According to the literature, skin is responsible for more than 30% of all forms of microbial contamination (Caserio et al., 1976); bacteria may be present on the poultry skin up to a depth of 0.3 mm and are more numerous in correspondence to the cutaneous folds, the glands and the feather follicles.

The presence of micro-organisms on the skin, beyond limiting the commercial duration of the meats, contributes to the contamination of the underlying muscular tissue, hindering the marketability in the case of sales utilising specifications based on bacteriological standards. The consequences are more serious when the contamination involves pathogenic or potential pathogenic bacteria (e.g. salmonella, campylobacter, E. coli strains) able to cause zoonoses or food poisoning.

In modern fully automated chicken slaughtering and dissection plants, the chickens, on arrival, are removed from their cages and manually suspended on appropriate fixtures to the slaughter line conveyor system, stunned by electronarcosis, jugulated and bled. Subsequently, the chickens enter the scalding bath with water at a temperature of around 50-55°C, where they remain for approximately 3 minutes, and are then automatically plucked. Thereafter, the carcasses enter the clean zone of the slaughterhouse.

There is no doubt that the above described phases constitute a significant source of contamination of the carcasses and of the slaughterhouse in general. On arrival at the slaughterhouse from the breeders the feathers and skin of poultry contain a high level of organic substances coming from the environment and from the animal (dust, litter, food, earth, faeces and secretions), in which bacterial flora proliferate. Added to these substances is the residue of blood derived from the bleeding. The chickens are immersed in the scalding-bath in this state, at a temperature and for time periods which are certainly not sufficient to remove all the undesirable substances carried by the feathers and the skin and are inadequate to inactivate the bacterial flora present on the skin. The anti-hygienic residues of feathers and skin contain a consistent part of lipids which create a waterproof barrier against the external cleaning of the carcasses. If the bacterial flora enter this lipidic substrate, which limits the effect of the scalder, it is necessary to work on it specifically, to remove it and, at the same time, to keep the microbial flora away.

What is more, in the course of a daily work routine (6-7 hours) the water of the scalding bath is not changed, but has only make up water added. The contamination of the scalding-bath water progressively increases, it becomes a culture medium and is itself a source of contamination.

The scalding process therefore, constitutes a critical control point, in the contamination of the slaughterhouse and particularly the product, the importance of which is certainly not less than other critical control points in the chicken slaughtering chain, such as, for example, the gutting.

The "Good Manufacturing Procedures" (GMP) and the "Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point" (HACCP) concepts require the development of methods to eradicate or control pathogen levels at critical points, throughout the production line. Considering that poultry meat cannot be made safe for human consumption simply by attention to hygienic processing practices, an HACCP approach suggests the opportunity of utilising in chicken slaughterhouses, an appropriate health control at the scalding level, in order to considerably reduce the bacterial level present on the chicken skins before the carcasses enter the slaughterhouse clean area.

Because the use of disinfectants in scalding-baths is illegal, some authors have put forward the hypothesis that optimising the actions of temperature, water activity (aw) and hydrogen ion parameters (Leistner, 1981) is essential to limiting bacterial activity. At the same time other authors (Cantoni et al., 1982) have shown that controlling these parameters does not by itself adequately solve the problem: new hygienic processes must be used in such a way as to remove the microbial flora.

From the above considerations and on the basis of laboratory research and extensive trials. which started about 20 years ago, ChimiBa has formulated a balanced chemical product, commercially named "SAN-PEL^®". It is a "Processing Aid" specifically formulated to contribute to the GMP and HACCP programmes all along the poultry slaughtering chain.

The SAN-PEL^® formulation has been patented (non medical device) by ChimiBa on a world-wide basis for all applications. The list of components has been communicated to, and approved the 11 July 1988, by Italian Ministry of Health (Annex 1). In accordance with the Legislative decree n° 109 of 27 Sept. 1992 (Annex 2), SAN-PEL^® is a technological aid.

SAN-PEL^® is a Processing Aid that contributes to limiting contamination in the poultry meat food chain. It has to be seen as part of an HACCP approach.

When added to the normal scalding water, SAN-PEL^®:
• removes any unwanted residue present on the skin of poultry carcasses during the scalding process;
• greatly reduces the number of pathogenic or potentially pathogenic bacteria present on the skin of the poultry carcasses, before they enter the clean zone of the slaughter-house;
• improves the degree of plucking;
• improves the hygienic and organoleptic qualities of the final product and prolongs its shelf-life;
• controls the contamination level of the scalding water, maintaining its maximum effectiveness for 6-8 working hours;
• is easily removed during the normal washing processes, leaving no determinable quantities of residues remaining on the surface of the carcasses;
• maintains the scalder water and the working room almost odourless;
• improves the quality of the discharge water (SAN-PEL^® is 99% biodegradable);
• improves the quality of the feathers, destined to be reutilized, which appear healthy and odourless;
• does not modify or alter the chemical-physical, bromatological or organoleptic characteristics of the food.

Besides the utilisation in the scalder-bath, SAN-PEL^® gives excellent results in improved hygiene quality and in longer shell-life when:
• sprayed on the carcass skin after plucking and/or gutting;
• used in the offal rinsing-water.

  

Chimica Industriale Dr. Balsano E-mail: chimiba@email.it