The effect of acid sanitizers on the microbiome of re-use water

Authors: Feye, Kristina; MICCHICHI, ANDREW - University Of Arkansas; RUBINELLI, PETER - University Of Arkansas; KNUEVEN, CARL - Jones-Hamilton Co; THOMPSON, DALE - University Of Arkansas; Kogut, Michael - Mike; RICKE, STEVEN - University Of Arkansas

Submitted to: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/12/2020
Publication Date: 7/3/2020
Citation: Feye, K.M., Micchichi, A.C., Rubinelli, P.M., Knueven, C.J., Thompson, D.R., Kogut, M.H., Ricke, S.C. 2020. The effect of acid sanitizers on the microbiome of re-use water. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. 4. Article 85. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2020.00085.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2020.00085

Interpretive Summary: Water is becoming increasingly scarce and is a non-renewable resource. The poultry industry uses a lot of water, which is very expensive. In order to save water resources, water is being collected and re-used in poultry processing. However, dirty water can harbor harmful germs which, if not killed, can cause disease in people who eat meat treated with re-use water. This study was conducted to determine if re-use water could be sanitized with safe chemicals to kill the harmful germs. Data indicates that these chemicals can be effective and kill the harmful germs in the water. These data are important to poultry meat producers so they can deliver safe poultry products to grocery stores.

Technical Abstract: Due to global climate change, water is becoming increasingly scarce. The poultry industry is a major consumer of fresh water. Therefore, in order to reduce their environmental footprint and burden, companies are in the beginning stages of evaluating water for re-use. Re-use water is classified as water from the poultry plant that has been collected, sanitized, and used again during poultry processing. Necessarily, this water must be potable as it otherwise produces a significant risk to the poultry industry. One of the most commonly used sanitizers in processing water is peracetic acid (PAA). At high concentrations, PAA is corrosive to the metal equipment in the plant and introduces a significant occupational hazard to plant workers. Inorganic sanitizers, such as sodium bisulfate (SBS), have documented antimicrobial and sanitation effects on a variety of surfaces. In this study, SBS and PAA were compared for their ability to sanitize re-use water collected from a local poultry plant. Fresh, commercial poultry processing plant re-use water was collected at the end of a processing shift and used within one hour of the collection. Microcosms were created to simulate the sanitation environment, and a time course collection of live microorganisms were gathered and evaluated for aerobic plate counts, total Enterobacteriaceae, and Salmonella load. The microcosms contained either SBS (1%, 2%, or 3%) or 200 ppm PAA throughout the course of the study. Water samples were collected at 0, 15, 30, and 60 minutes post-sanitation. The water was evaluated for total Enterobacteriaceae and microbial load, and the total DNA was extracted and sequenced using the 16S rDNA Illumina MiSeq v2 Platform, targeting the V4 region of the prokaryote rDNA molecule. The sequences were analyzed using the QIIME2.2018.08 pipeline. The results of this study indicate that SBS is as efficacious as PAA for decreasing bacterial loads in poultry re-use water, but it may favor different populations of bacteria in that water.