AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND – Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is seeking public comments on an application that will permit the use of a new processing aid for the antimicrobial treatment of raw poultry.

FSANZ has concluded an initial safety assessment of the aid, cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), with the organisation finding the treatment to be appropriate for raw, skin-on poultry. No safety concerns were raised during the assessments.

CPC is used in other countries including the USA and Canada for disinfection of food products. It is used where it would be inappropriate to rely on a chlorine-based solution for disinfecting goods and is found elsewhere in products used by humans such as mouthwashes and toothpastes.

The mixture is commercially available under the trade name Cecure manufactured by Safe Foods Corporation, a food safety antimicrobials manufacturer.

Cecure is a patented food processing aid that is formulated and supplied as a concentrated solution of CPC dissolved in an aqueous solution with food-grade Propylene Glycol (PG).

There are no known impurities, by-products, contaminants, or reaction products of concern in concentrated or diluted Cecure.

CPC is not an oxidant, or acidic in nature and will not alter the structure or function of proteins, lipids, or

carbohydrates. In addition, Cecure has a neutral pH and will not alter the sensory characteristics of the product being treated.

The PG molecule does not break down on the treated poultry product or in the processing environment. However, when consumed, it is rapidly metabolized in a manner similar to sugar, where it breaks down into lactic acid, which is excreted from the body in urine.

It is chemically inert and only serves to enhance the stability and solubility of CPC in solution, and to reduce the absorption of CPC on the treated poultry.

CPC can be used to treat the inner and outer surfaces of raw pre-chill, poultry carcasses after the last inside/outside bird washer (“IOBW”) at ambient temperature.

It can also be applied to post-chill immersion or air-chilled, whole poultry carcasses or to poultry parts.

The treatment can be applied using a dip application depending on the point of application and the poultry products being treated.

The Cecure system captures and recycles the solution, so water usage is not significantly affected by treatment volume.

The application systems are currently installed and operating in 49 poultry slaughter facilities in the U.S. and other countries.

CPC  has proved to be efficacious in its in-plant decontamination results, with an excellent record of safe use within the plants.

Pursuant to section 31 of the FSANZ Act 1991, FSANZ now calls for comments to be submitted before 13th April 2021, to assist in the consideration of the draft food regulatory measure.

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