Approval has been granted in the US for PURE Bioscience to begin an in-plant poultry processing trial of a spray-applied antimicrobial that is designed to reduce pathogens, including Salmonella.
Permission to trial the product, Pure Control, has been given by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), allowing the item to be “spray applied to whole chicken carcasses during online reprocessing and offline reprocessing”.
The company said that PURE Control “maximises microbial control and is highly effective against Salmonella, Listeria, E coli and many other pathogens”. It also claimed that extensive laboratory testing in simulated plant conditions demonstrated the product as having the potential to reduce Salmonella to “below detection” levels.
“The plant trial is anticipated to confirm a meaningful reduction in pathogens in commercial application,” said PURE Bioscience. “This addresses the top priority of the USDA in its Salmonella Action Plan, to reduce the presence of Salmonella in poultry sold to consumers by 50% from current levels. Presently approximately 28% of raw poultry sold to consumers contains Salmonella.”
The two-phase trial will start within the next two weeks and will last four to six weeks.
“We have been engaged in discussions with major poultry processors in anticipation of approval, and interest is strong in our solution to help processors protect customers and their brand,” said the company’s CEO, Hank Lambert.
“Within three to five years, we expect to achieve poultry processing aid sales representing a meaningful share of the US market. Simultaneously, we have already begun commercialising PURE Control in the US fresh produce processing aid market where we also anticipate generating significant market share.”
