Evaluating Commercial Spray Applications of Lactic Acid, Hot Water, and Acidified Sodium Chlorite for the Reduction of Escherichia coli on Beef Carcasses

This study examined the effects of lactic acid spray, hot water spray, or their combined treatment, as well as the effects of acidified sodium chlorite (ASC), for the decontamination of Escherichia coli on beef carcass surfaces using a commercial intervention system. With this system, the effects of 2 or 4% lactic acid (v/v), hot water ($89{\pm}1^{\circ}C$), or their combined treatment, were examined in terms of reducing inoculated E. coli. ASC (266 ppm), which was adjusted to pH 2.5 using acetic acid or citric acid, was applied using a hand-held spray system. When the beef carcasses were treated with 2 or 4% lactic acid for 10.4 s, less than 1 log reductions of inoculated E. coli were observed. A hot water spray treatment for 9.8 s resulted in a 2.1 log reduction of inoculated E. coli. However, when the hot water was followed with either 2 or 4% lactic acid, no difference in E. coli reduction was found between the hot water alone or the combined treatment with lactic acid. When ASC was adjusted to pH 2.5 with acetic acid and citric acid, 3.8 and 4.1 log reductions of E. coli were observed, respectively. Overall, the lactic acid spray treatment was least effective, and the ASC treatment was most effective, for the E. coli decontamination of beef carcasses. Therefore, these data suggest that ASC would be a more effective intervention against E. coli than most of the methods currently being used. However, more research is required to evaluate the effects of ASC on other organisms, as well as to identify application methods that will not affect meat quality.