No significant risk in using recycled hot water in meat decontamination - EFSA
The body also concluded that if the proper HACCP and chemical risk managements measures were introduced it was unlikely there would be increased microbiological and abiotic risks from utilising hot recycled water. But EFSA said current data was limited and called for more research into both fields.
Efficacy
The food safety watchdog was asked to assess the efficacy of the decontamination technique in terms of reduction of surface contamination. Use of hot recycled water is presently used in Canada and Denmark on environmental and energy-saving grounds.
With the caveat that the limited data related only to bovine and porcine animals, the experts concluded: “The available data have shown no significant differences in decontamination efficacy, in terms of microbial reductions achievable on carcasses, between hot potable and hot recycled water.”
Application of what the panel called a “proper heating regime” for the treatment of recycled water was identified as the best way to control vegetative bacterial cells and protozoan parasites. The panel added that microbial toxins are not significantly produced and/or are inactivated in the process.
Microbiological risks
The main microbiological risks in using recycled water are from heat resistant spores such as C. botulinum, C. perfringens, C. difficile and B. cereus – although there is little available research on the extent of carcass contamination with the spores, their germination and inactivation, said the agency’s BIOHAZ panel.
It added the best control options was to define proper HACCP criteria to ensure the microbiological risk in recycled water was not higher than in hot potable water
Abiotic risk
The abiotic risk – that from chemicals – for hot recycled water were likely to be no greater than with hot potable water as long as existing chemical risk management procedures were applied, said EFSA. But the body acknowledged that "existing criteria for potable water neither include all chemical contaminants nor veterinary medicinal products, which might contaminate recycled hot water".
HACCP control criteria
The report lays out a number of HACCP criteria including the minimal heating temperature and time regime for hot recycled water as well as how often it is renewed. These must meet existing standards for potable water and prevent the build up of heat resistant spores, it said.
Regular tests to ensure compliance with the chemical criteria for potable water also need to be carried out.
The opinion said different temperatures and application techniques-related parameters can be used for hot recycled water. But it added such critical values must be specified, validated, monitored, verified and documented in the same way as with hot potable water decontamination. The same procedure would need to be carried out to test for the absence of residues of veterinary medicinal products in poultry carcass decontamination.
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