Doubling up safety
six of its American beef processing plants. The company believes
that this will significantly improve the group's food safety
protocols.
US firm Swift has implemented a new double pasteurisation system at six of its American beef processing plants. The company believes that this will significantly improve the group's food safety protocols.
Swift reports that it is the first major beef processor to utilise the double pasteurisation system, which features a 160-degree F water spray at two separate times in the production process to virtually sterilise the carcass. Those steps are supplemented by a sanitizing pre-wash using water and organic acid, steam vacuuming, final wash and organic acid rinse to create the industry's most comprehensive food safety production process.
The double pasteurisation system adds to the effectiveness of food safety protocols because it increases the exposure time of the carcass' surface to the water, which is heated to temperatures sufficient to kill bacteria. The temperature of the water and time of exposure are two key factors in the effectiveness of the system in killing bacteria.
"Food safety is our highest priority, and we will continue to research new technologies that will add any measure of effectiveness to our process," Warren Mirtsching, vice president of quality assurance and food safety, said.
"Cooking fresh meat to a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees is the only silver bullet to guarantee that all bacteria on the product is eliminated, but we are taking every step possible to ensure the safety and wholesomeness of our products."
Swift was also the first major meat processor to implement a "test and hold" process in which the company tests 100 per cent of all lots of beef trimmings used to make ground beef for potential contamination by the E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria. The product is not released to customers until the test results are confirmed negative for the bacteria.
"We take great pride in being the industry leader in food safety," Mirtsching said. "There is no technology or process we will not explore if it will improve our production process."
