COMPOSITION FOR ELIMINATING UNSANITARY RESIDUES FROM FOOD PRODUCTS OF ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE ORIGIN AND METHOD FOR USING THE SAME

Abstract: Composition useful for decontaminating surfaces of food products of animal and vegetable origin, in particular for eliminating microbic loadings and unsanitary substances, without altering and making noxious the food texture; a method is moreover disclosed for using said composition, comprising the steps of subjecting the food product to a bath of an aqueous solution of the composition and subsequently rinsing by water in order to remove the polluting substances being present.

Description: Title: COMPOSITION FOR ELIMINATIMG UNSANITARY RESIDUES FROM FOOD PRODUCTS OF ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE ORIGIN AND METHOD FOR USING THESAME FIELDOFTHE INVENTION The present invention relates to a composition useful for processing food products of animal and vegetable origin, in par¬ ticular fresh bird and pork meats as well as eggs, and fruits and vegetables, for eliminating polluting substances present on their surfaces, while preserving all of their useful and healthiness proprerties. A method for using this composition is moreover dis¬ closed. BACKGROUNDOFTHEINVENTION As known, fresh food products, both of animal and vegetable origin, are frequently brought to the consume place loaded by un¬ sanitary surface substances so as to provide a great risk for the health of the consumer. These unsanitary substances may consist of polluting agents of organic or inorganic chemical, pharmaco- logic and microbic nature, deriving from the environement and an¬ imal, such as food residues, soil, secretions, defecations and the like. In particular, the bacterial contaminations, the amount of wich on the surface of live animals (such as swine and chicken) is of the order of several tens millions germs/cm of skin, is just responsible for the degrading process of the food products. The odor characterizing the altering processes of a lot of food SUBSTITUTE SHEET products, such as meats, chicken, or poultry, eggs, fish, etc., is mainly due to products deriving from the bacterial metabolism of the microflora (Pseudomonas, Achromobacter, Corynebacteria, etc. ) and not to products of the tissue autolysis. The presence of microorganisms and unsanitary substances of chemical nature on the skin and generally on the outer layers of the food products, in addition to limiting the commercial dura¬ tion of the products, also contributes to a contamination of the underlying muscle tissue in the case of meat and of the com¬ estible inner portions in the case of eggs, by preventing the ne¬ gotiability thereof since bacteriological requirements must be met. In the case of vegetables, the surface contamination nega¬ tively affects the sanitary and microbiological qualities in all of the transformation and preserving steps of the finished pro¬ ducts. The industry in this field has addressed the problem of eliminating these noxious residues and improving the hygienic- sanitary degree related to the processing of several food pro¬ ducts, by adopting a number of solutions, the main of which is that solution consists of using disinfectant substances in order to neutralize the bacterial loadings, as disclosed in the US-A-4 140 649 patent. However, the proposed methods and compositions are practi¬ cally unsatisfactory. In fact, the unsanitary substances to be SUBSTITUTE SHEET removed, particularly in animal origin food products, correspond to several tens of millions of germs/cm 2 of surface; the problem proper derives, under the hygienic-sanitary aspect and economic aspect, from the impossibility of the above mentioned method of removing tens of millions of germs/cm 2 of surface, and this lack¬ ing of elimination would involve for food products a quick per¬ ishability and toxicity. Thus, chlorinated water has been already used (containing 10D20 ppm's of active chlorine): however, these disinfection methods fatally lead to the presence of residues on the final products; in the specific case of the slaughtering of swine, it occurs that an amount larger than 50% of chlorine is restrained on the meat and particularly on the fat tissue, so as to combine with the lipide fractions thereby providing derived products, the dangers of which have not been established. Moreover, according to the enforcing rules, it is not per¬ mitted to use disinfectant, antiseptic and antibacterial sub¬ stances the residues of which would be susceptible to remain for an indefinite time in food products provided for human feeding, with dangerous consequences for the public health. This problem specifically affects the processing or treatment of bird and pork meats , for which the critical steps in which the most contamina¬ tion occurs are the scalding bath, the plucking and entrails re¬ moving steps. According to conventional meats cleaning methods, the ani¬ mal carcass is subjcted to a first washing step, by immersing it SUBSTITUTE SHEET for a precisely set time into a hot water bath (the temperature of the bath being of 52-55 β C), which also provides the advantage of facilitating the possible subsequent plucking step, in the case of birds, or pile removing step, in the case of swine. At the output of the scalding bath, however, the total microbic loading on the outer surfaces of the carcasses corresponds, in conventional processing methods, to values wich can not meet the sanitary rules or requirements, since said values will increase after the plucking, pile removing and entrails removing steps, thereby causing altering processes to occur on the processed meat, to the detriment of their quality and preserving. A further problem is represented by the organic and inor¬ ganic materials carried by the slaughtered animals which accumu¬ late in the scalding bath and wich can achieve a concentration, in the case of poultry processing, of 8.56% by weight of the bath itself: in this case, the pollution of meat will depend, in addi¬ tion to a primitive pollution of the carcasses, on the greatly polluted working environment; in fact, the washing water, will tend to become, in the time, a culture broth, mainly if, as it is conventional, one tries to extend the duration to the limit of the eight working hours, by conventional warer-addition opera¬ tions. The high temperature of the scalding basin is not suffi¬ cient to suppress the bacterial flora built-in therein, and the most advanced slaughtering tecnique is not at present suitable to SUBSTITUTE SHEET oveco e this drawback. In order to improve the processing sanitary conditions, both of scalding water and of the surfaces of the food products, the prior art teaches to add disinfectant substances to the wash¬ ing water, which is however prohibited in all countries , in order to reduce the bacterial mass. However, it has been found that the hygienic properties of the slaughtered animal obtained by adding to the bath disinfectant substances, not only continue to be technologically insufficient, but, moreover, they are worsened by toxic residues retained on meat up to 60% of the con¬ centration thereof. Under the best hygienic-sanitary conditions and by the most improved technologic systems adopted in the mod¬ ern industry, at the end of the processing on meat is found a bacterial load of the order of 5-10 5 germs/cm 2 of skin if simple washing water is used, whereas a bacterial load of about 1-310 5 germs/cm 2 of skin is found if to the washing water is added a disinfectant substance, and this in infringement to the CEE's rules. Thus, the bacterial load on the meat surfaces is too much great to assure a proper hygienic-sanitary level. In view of the inefficiency or poor results of the above mentioned methods, the above mentioned unsanitary residues remaining on the meat sur¬ faces are considered as "technologically inevitable" by those skilled in the art. Accordingly, exists a need of overcoming the above men¬ tioned technical drawback, by providing a method for cleaning the SUBSTITUTE SHEET surfaces of the above mentioned food products which does not use food additives susceptible to alter the organoleptic properties , aspect and texture thereof, which does not use active disinfec¬ tant, antibacterial agents or other compositions prohibited by the enforcing CEE's rules, which is not toxic, does not alter the food products, and does not leave any residue on the food pro¬ ducts itself. The chemical and bacteriological contamination of the sur¬ face of agricultural origin food products is mainly due to the use of fertilizing, pesticide, weed-killer substances, systemic insecticides for plants and animals; these products have revolu¬ tionized the agricultural methods, but they leave on the food products residues which make said products incompatible with the human health. Accordingly, it is necessary to remove the above noxious residues also from the surfaces of vegetable origin food products both as they are provided for a direct consume and as they are provided for industrial transformation and preserving processes. SUMMARYOFTHEINVENTION The Applicant has surprisingly found a composition for de¬ contaminating food products of animal or vegetable origin, sui¬ table to remove from their surfaces germ and unsanitary substance loads, without altering and making noxious the food product tex¬ ture, said composition comprising sodium sulphate, a suspending agent, carboxymethylcellulose, propylene-glycol, at least a sur- SUBSTSTUTESHEET face active agent, at least a leaching agent, at least a seques¬ tering agent, at least an anti-dehydrating agent, at least a buffering agent and at least an emulsifying agent. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for decontaminating surfaces of food products of animal and vegetable origin, comprising the steps of subjecting the food product to a washing by an aqueous solution containing 0.05-1.5% of said composition, at a temperature of 15°C to 65 β C, for a time from 60 seconds to 6 minutes, depending on the animal and vegetable e species to be processed, and performing successively a rinsing step by water. As pork and poultry meat has to be specifically processed, said method comprises the steps of subjecting the slaughtered an¬ imal to a bath of an aqueous solution containing from 0.1% to 0.3% of said composition during the washing step in the scalding bath and/or subjecting it to a shower spraying by an aqueous so¬ lution containing from 0.05% to 0.2% of the aforesaid composition during the subsequent steps of plucking, pile removing and en¬ trails removing, and a subsequent rinsing step in either pure or sea water for removing the hydrosolubilized polluting substances. As vegetable products are to be decontaminated, the method comprises to use the aforesaid composition in manual and mechani¬ cal washing operations of fruit and vegetables provided for the transformation and preserving thereof. SUBSTITUTE SHEET DETAILEDDESCRIPTIONOFTHEINVENTION The characteristics and advantages of the composition for eliminating unsanitary residues from surfaces of food products and of the method using said composition according to the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed disclosure. The tissue layers which usually coat the animal and vegetable origin food products constitute and ideal environment for the built-in of bacterial loads and noxious residues, since they provide an outer barrier impermeable to washing materials. Hot water per se, even at high temperatures, as used in the prior art, is not sufficient to fully solubilize said impermeable sub¬ layer, thereon remain a portion of the bacterial load and unsani¬ tary substances. The composition according to the present inven¬ tion has been designed for removing said unsanitary layers, and this is obtained by processing the food product so as to solubi¬ lize the outer surface thereof, thereby rendering it permealable to water and removing by subsequent rinsing operations by pure water said sublayer on which are present the most part of the germs. The removal of this surface layer of undesired substances, and accordingly of the germs and noxious substances contained herein, is not performed by using antiseptic agents (prohibited by the enforcing rules in this field), but exploiting the capa¬ bility of some chemical substances of removing the above men- SUBSTITUTE SHEET tioned layer, and which, in the meanwhile, are inert with respect to the animal tissues, and perfectly harmless since, upon wash¬ ing, on the surfaces of the food products do not remain any re¬ sidues. The composition according to the present invention com¬ prises: - sodium sulphate in an amount from 10 to 25% by weight based on the total composition, preferably in an amount of 14%; - at least a suspending agent such as carboxymethylcellulose in an amount from 0.4 to 6% by weight, preferably 1%; - at least a softening agent such as propylene-glycol in an amount from 0.5 to 5%, preferably 1%; - at least a surface active agent adapted to make hydrophilic the surface layer having no connection with the food product, se¬ lected from the alkyl-benzene sodium sulphonates or alkyl-ben- zene triethanolamine sulphonates, the triethanolamine having preferably either a straight or branched alkyl chain comprising from 4 to 8 carbon atoms; said surface active agent being in¬ cluded in an amount from 1 to 7% by weight with respect to the total composition, preferably of 2%; - at least a bleaching agent, selected from sodium carbonate, so¬ dium bicarbonate and potassium bicarbonate, preferably sodium bicarbonate . Said bleaching agent is present in an amount from 5 to 14% by weight of the composition, preferably 8% by weight; at least a sequestering agent for reducing the water hardness, SUBSTITUTE SHEET and selected from sodium esamethaphosphate, sodium tripolypho- sphate, trisodium edetate, preferably sodium esamethaphosphate; said sequestering agent being present in an amount from 4 to 8% by weight, preferably 6%; at least an anti-dehydrating agent for softening the outer tissue of the food product, said agent being selected from urea and sodium chloride, preferably urea; said anti-dehydrating agent being present in an amount from 1 to 7.5% by weight, preferably 2%; - at least a buffering agent, selected from sorbic acid, citric acid and malic acid, preferably malic acid, said buffering agent being present in an amount from 0.5 to 2% by weight, and preferably 1%; - at least an emulsifying agent, selected from sodium ethasili- cate and sodium orthophosphate, preferably sodium methasilica- te; said emulsifying agent being present in an amount from 30 to 70% by weight, preferably 65%. All of the substances used in said composition are used in a pure form, without any noxious impurities. This composition consti¬ tutes a "technologic aiding agent", i.e. a substance deliberately used for transforming food products in order to achieve a given technologic objective during the processing or transforming step, as stated by Article 7, item 1, letter c) of the law decree of January 27, 1992, Number 109, based on the 89/395-396/CEE guidelines. This composition does not contain antibacterial active agents, or disin¬ fectant agents or other components the use of which is prohibited by SUBSTITUTE SHEET law; it, moreover, provides a good assurance of sanitary qualities and feeding safety of the food products, and in particular of the bird slaughtered meats (fully according to the requirements stated by the 92/116/CEE guideline-encl. B, chapter II, item c)) and of the pork meat (fully according to the requirements stated by the 83/90/CEE guideline-encl.1, chapter VI, comma 31). The composition present invention is not a disinfectant or an additive agent. The above disclosed composition according to the present invention, constituted by inorganic salts, organic salts and sur¬ face active agents, with a full absence of disinfectant and anti¬ bacterial active agents; has the following features. Physicalproperties physical status at 20°C powder color white odor odorless pH at 20 β C (aqueous solution at 0.15% by weight) 10.3 water solubility full Toxicologicproperties acute oral toxicity it is not considered toxic local effect on the skin irritating local effect on eyes irritating first aid measures wash by water noxious impurities none danger none (A not inflammable and not exploding product) SUBSTITUTE SHEET The present invention also relates to a method for using the above mentioned composition for purifying surfaces of food product of animal and vegetable origin, comprising the steps of subjecting the food product to a washing by an aqueous solution containing 0.05-1.5% of the above mentioned composition, at a temperature from 15°C to 65°C, for a time from 60 seconds to 6 minutes, and then rinsing by water Preferably, the aforesaid temperature is from 20°C to 55°C in the case of birds, from 20 to 62 C C in the case of swine and from 20 to 35°C for processing eggs, and from 15 to 40°C in the case of vegetable products. In particular, as swine and bird meats are processed, said method can be performed at the most critical points of the pro¬ cessing, in which the greatest contaminations occur, such as the scalding bath processing, the plucking step, the pile removal step and the entrails removing step. In these cases, the method comprises the steps of subjecting the food product to a bath of an aqueous solution containing from 0.1% to 0.3% of the aforesaid composition, during the washing step in the scalding bath, hold¬ ing the temperature at 50-52 β C for chicken, 60-62 β C for swine, and/or subjecting it to a shower spraying by an aqueous solution containing from 0.05% to 0.2% of the aforesaid composition during the subsequent steps of plucking, pile removing and entrails re¬ moving; a subsequent rinsing step by pure water or sea water will allow to definitely remove the hydrosolubilized polluting sub¬ stances and any undesirable surface residues. SUBSTITUTE SHEET The composition according to the present invention and the method using it are valid in the case of a sanitary improving of meat in general and fish, in addition to washing of egg shells and vegetable products, with good organoleptic and microbiologi¬ cal results (decontamination from Salmonella and E.Coli). The sanitary advantages of the processing method using the above mentioned composition are also extended, in the growth fac¬ tor, to all the by-products of bird and swine processings, which are deodorized and sound such as carcasses, chitterlings, bones, feathers, pile and several residues provided for reusing, in the form of commercial meals, in the zootechnical feeding. The sanitarizing action of the above mentioned composition, as it is used in a washing bath water, can be further improved or enhanced by blowing into said water an ozonized air stream, pro¬ vided by a suitable ozonizer. The natient oxygen, as it is quikly dissolved in the washing water, will provide a further sanitariz¬ ing effect on the surfaces of the food products, thereby im¬ proving the surface sanitary quality, and provide a greater ali¬ mentary safety and a greater preserving duration of said food products. Experimentally it has been found that, by blowing in ozone into the water containing the composition of the invention, on the surfaces of the food products do not occur any oxidating re¬ actions susceptible to modify or alter the natural charac¬ teristics of the alimentary surfaces, and, moreover, no dangerous SUBSTITUTE SHEET residue can be found on said surfaces susceptible to be harmful for the food product healthiness and human health. By operating under these conditions, moreover, it is possible to sanitize food products which are notoriously known as scarcely sensible to the common processing methods, such those obtained, in particular, from animals breeded under anomalous conditions, specially from a hygienic-sanitary standpoint. The aforesaid composition and method for using it will allow to provide great santary improvements and, in particular, on meat: - reduction of the total microbial load (CMT) on the skin, equal to three logarithmic units, which corresponds to a removal of at least 99.99% of the total microbial load and at least 99.94% of Salmonella and E.Coli; - a greater preserving duration of the slaughtered animal of 50- 100% greater than the conventional duration; this period is larger by an amount up to 15 days than the regular duration in the case of bird meat. The aforesaid composition will modify the chemical-physical properties of the scalding or spraying water with a great effi¬ ciency of the chemical and microbial decontamination of the food product surfaces, but it does not negatively affect said food products, and the organoleptic, bromatologic and preservability characteristics thereof will be drastically improved. The end meat products obtained by the aforesaid processing SUBSTITUTE SHEET method will have characteristics of very great alimentary safety, since the components of the inventive composition are not toxic, not dangerous and fully soluble in water; - the composition does not modify the texture of the cellular tissues of the carcasses; - the composition does not affect the usual biochemical post-mor¬ tem variations of glycogen, lactic acid and ammonia nitrogen which conventionally occur in meats; - the composition does not leave on the surfaces of the processed animals, after the conventional rinsing operations, any undesi¬ rable residues extraneous to the meat; - the end products are characterized by the absence of any slimy residue since the skin color and hue will be held unchanged wi¬ thout any disagreeable odors and taste. In the case of pork meats, the above characteristics will allow to obtain both a more even salting and ageing of the cured hams and a more even seasoning of the sausages. The operating advantages, of great economic incidence, which are particularly achieved in the overall slaughtering process, by adopting the method according to the present inven¬ tion, both in the presence and in the absence of ozonization, are hereinbelow schematically illustrated; - an improvement of the production yield; - a reducing of the scalding bath temperature, held at 50-52 β C for birds, and at 60-62 β C for swine, thereby obtaining less SUBSTITUTE SHEET cooked meat without abrasions; - the possibility of using the same bath, without any disagreable odors, for the full duration of a continued working cycle of 8 hours; - a reduction of the amount of water required in the slaughtering process for any kg of meat; - an improvement of the pile removing and plucking steps, with less abrasions on the skin in the particular case of pork meat or bird meat; - a quick drying of the animal carcasses, even without using air streams; - a sanitarizing and deodorizing of the slaughtering by-products (feathers, pile, waste and so on); - a sanitarizing and deodorizing of the processing equipment, and in general of the working environment; - an lacking of clogging of the draining channels, - an improvement of the biodegradability of the waste water. A further advantage of the present invention relates actu¬ ally, to the ecological impact of the above mentioned composi¬ tion, which shows a biodegradability larger than 99%; its pre¬ sence in waste waters does not negatively affect any purifying process. Moreover, the concentration of phosphorus which is present in a litre of an aqueous solution of the above mentioned composi¬ tion at 0.15%, corresponds to 6.20 μg, which is about 1000 times SUBSTITUTE SHEET less than the admitted maximum amount. In order to better illustrate the present invention, without limiting it, there are hereinbelow disclosed the follow¬ ing examples: EXAMPLE1 Useoftheinventivecomposition inapoultryimmersionbath A practical demonstration of the sanitary efficacy of the composition according to the present invention and method using it, can be deduced by a comparation of the microbiological values which have been found in experiments carried out on poultry or chicken processed exclusively by water and Hawaii an aqueous so¬ lution of the above mentioned composition at 0.15% in the scalding bath water. The composition used comprises; Triethanolamine alkylbenzene sulphonate 1.15% sodium carbonate 7.10% sodium esamethaphosphate 6.20% urea 1.87% maleic acid 1.79% sodium methasilicate 67.47% sodium sulphate 13.15% carboxymethylcellulose 0.41% propylenglycol 0.86% SUBSTITUTE SHEET The adopted slaughtering conditions correspond to the following: - amount of processed carcasses 20000 - water temperature 51 β C - amount of water in the scalding basin 6000 1 - amount of the aforesaid composition 2500 animals/h - use time of the same bath 1500 1 - slaughtering chain speed 9 kg - water makeDup (up to 12 hours) 8 h - CMT on the chicken before processing 6-10 6 germs/cm 2 skin The drawings have been performed each hour for a time from hours 7 to hours 13 and from hours 14 to hours 16, that is for 8 hours of continuous processing from the starting thereof. The total microbial load (CMT) has been determined by conventional methods; the obtained results are hereinbelow shown in Table 1. TABLE 1 Total microbial load (CMT) on the surface of the slaughtered carcasses. TIME CMT (germs/cm 2 ) CMT (germs/cm 2 ) (hours) wi he composition at 0.15% with water only 7 1.1 -10 3 3.9 • 10 6 8 1.2 *10 3 9 1.0 * 10 3 10 1.4 * 10 3 4.8 ■ 10 6 11 1.6 * 10 3 5.7 • 10 6 12 2.1 • 10 3 5.6 * 10 6 13 1. - 10 3 6.1 • 10 6 16 2.4 * 10 3 7.2 • 10 6 The obtained experimental data show a high efficiency, SUBSTITUTE SHEET which previously was considered as impossible to obtain by the word industry, of the removal from the skin of the animals of sa¬ prophyte and pathogenous germs in an amount of three logarithmic units. In the cae of an use of the above mentioned composition in the scalding bath, there is moreover observed an improvement of the plucking step, a reduction of the skin abrasions, an absence of residual slime and a consequent quick drying and, finally, a greater preserving duration at 2-3 β C without any altering processes. At the end of the treatment, the meat has the following or- ganoleptic and inspectorial characteristics: - odor: natural, absence of any fecal odors - color: natural pink - taste: typical of chicken - aspect: perfect - texture: optimum - morphological examination: none evident damage to organs and tissues - extraneous chemical residues: absent SUBSTITUTE SHEET EXAMPLE2 Comparativetestson poultrybetweentheuseoftheinventivecomposition and useofchlorineand iodinebaseddisinfectantsolutions These tests have been carried out on Hubbard breed chicken from an industrial breeding farm. In a first series of tests, chicken have been subjected to a spray washing, after entrails removal for 1, 2 and 4 minutes, respectively by a control pure water, a solution containing the inventive composition as dis¬ closed in Example 1, at 0.2%, with an aqueous chlorine solution (200 pp 's) and an aqueous iodine solution (200 ppm's). In a second series of tests, chicken have been immersed in a hot bath respectively of control pure water, a solution con¬ taining the aforesaid imposition at 0.2%, an aqueous chlorine so¬ lution (200 ppm's) and an iodine aqueous solution (200 ppm's). The performed analysis has provided an evaluation of the total bacterial load as well as of the Coliforms and Streptococci D. The used culture media were triptosium agar for the total count, the Mc Convey's soil for E. Coli and coliforms, and the Escherichia azide agar soil for the Streptococci D. The chicken taken at the times shown in Table 2 have been subjected to a skin removal operation at their anal region. The skin has been then homogenized in a mixer with 1/4 of a pep¬ tone/salt solution. After decimal dilutions, the soils or culture media have been seeded and incubated at 30°C and 37°C for 3 days. SUBSTITUTE SHEET The results of the two aforesaid test series are respec¬ tively illustrated in Tables 2 and 3. TABLE 2 Effects of a spraying washing on poultry by solutions of the aforesaid composi¬ tion, chlorine and iodine on the total microbe load, on the levels of E. Coli and co¬ nforms and on the levels of streptococci D. TIME treatment by treatment by a treatment by an pure water (min.) 0.20% solution chlorine solution iodine solution control (200 ppm's) (200 ppm's) TOTAL BATERIAL LOAD (germs/cm 2 ) 1 10 5 10 6 10 6 10 6 2 10 4 10 5 10 6 — 4 10 3 10 4 10 6 10 6 E. COLI AND COLIFORMS (germs/cm 2 ) 1 10 3 10 4 104 10 5 2 10 3 104 10 4 — 4 10 2 102 10 3 10 5 STREPTOCOCCI D (germs/cm 2 ) 1 10 4 105 10 4 10 5 2 10 3 105 10 4 — 4 10 2 103 10 4 10 5 SUBSTITUTE SHEET TABLE 3 Effects of washing by immersing chicken into solution of the aforesaid composi¬ tion, chlorine and iodine on the total microbe or bacterial load, on the levels of E. Coli and conforms and on the levels of streptococci D. TIME treatment by treatment by treatment by pure water (min.) 0.20% solution a chlorine solution an iodine solution control (200 ppm's) (200 ppm's) TOTAL BATERIAL LOAD (germs/cm 2 ) 2 10 4 10 4 10 5 10 6 4 10 4 10 4 10 5 106 E. COLI AND COLIFORMS (germs/cm 2 ) 2 10 2 102 10 4 10 4 4 10 2 102 10 4 10 4 STREPTOCOCCI D (germs/cm 2 ) 2 10 2 102 10 4 10 4 4 10 2 102 10 4 10 4 The above data show a reduction of the total bacterial or microbe load corrisponding to three logarithmic units, as well as a nearly complete elimination of E. Coli and Streptococci D. The organoleptic characteristics of the treatment product including the composition according to the present invention are irreproachable, whereas they are abnormal and with an intensive chlorine and iodine odor in the other two cases. Finally, the treatment by the aforesaid composition pro¬ vides very good sanitary characteristics which are very safe from SUBSTITUTE SHEET a toxicity standpoint, whereas the chlorine and iodine solutions leave present toxic residues in an amount from 50 to 100% of the used concentration, so that they are not suitable for a food con¬ sume. The duration of the chicken preserving period is increased by 13 days using the aforesaid composition, with respect to 8 and 6 days respectively obtained by a treatment using the chlorine and iodine containing solution. EXAMPLE 3 Comparative tests on swine, between the use of the inventive composition and the use of chlorine and iodine based disinfectant solutions. The two test series performed on chicken, according to the Example 2, have been likewise repeated on swine; the obtained re¬ sults have been shown in the following Tables 4 and 5. SURST'T! »TE SHEET TABLE 4 Effects of a spray washing on swine, using solutions of the aforesaid composi¬ tion, chlorine and iodine on the total bacterial load, and on the levels of E. Coli and conforms and streptococci D. TIME treatment by treatment by treatment by pure water (min.) 0.20% solution a chlorine solution an iodine solution control (200 ppm's) (200 ppm's) TOTAL BATERIAL LOAD (germs/cm 2 ) 1 10 6 10 6 10 5 106 2 10 5 105 10 5 — 4 10 4 105 10 5 — E. COLI AND COLIFORMS (germs/cm 2 ) 1 10 3 10 3 103 10 4 2 10 2 102 10 3 — 4 10 10 10 3 104 STREPTOCOCCI D (germs/cm 2 ) 1 10 3 103 10 3 10 4 2 10 2 102 10 3 — 4 10 10 2 103 10 4 SUBSTITUTE SHEET TABLE 5 Effects of washing by immersing swine into solutions of the aforesaid composi¬ tion, chlorine and iodine on the total bacterial load, and on the levels of E. Coli and conforms and on levels of streptococci D. TIME treatment by a treatment by treatment by pure water (min.) 0.20% solution a chlorine solution an iodine solution control (200 ppm's) (200 ppm's) TOTAL BATERIAL LOAD (germs/cm 2 ) 1 10 5 10 6 10 6 10 6 2 10 4 10 5 10 6 — 4 10 3 10 4 10 6 10 6 E. COLI AND COLIFORMS (germs/cm 2 ) 1 10 5 105 10 3 10 3 2 10 4 104 10 3 — 4 10 3 10 102 10 3 STREPTOCOCCI D (germs/cm 2 ) 1 10 3 103 10 3 10 4 2 10 2 102 10 3 — 4 10 10 2 102 10 4 Even in this case, the composition according to the present invention provides a significant reduction, with respect to the controls, of the surface bacterial load present on the skin of the slaughtered swine. The aforesaid composition administered by spraying an aqueous solution, or as a direct bath, has demon¬ strated an efficiency which can be compared with that of the SUBSTITUTE SHEET chlorine solution having a concentration of 200 ppm's, however without toxicity and incompatibility in the treatment of food products characterizing the latter. EXAMPLE4 Effectsofthe inventivecompositiononthemicrobicfloracontaminatingthehen eggshells. The tests have been carried out on four samples of 24 eggs each (12 of which being control samples), the shells of which have been soiled under different conditions: SAMPLE1 Poultry excrements have been diluted by a physiological so¬ lution and homogenized in a mortar so as to provide a homogeneous suspension. The thus obtained material has been used for soiling, by a cotton pad, the shells of conventionally commercially avail¬ able eggs. After soiling, the eggs have been left at room temperature of 24 hours, in order to allow the material to dry on the surfaces of the shells. SAMPLE2 The egg shell has been soiled, instead of using diluted poultry excrements, by blended cultures of microorganisms ob¬ tained from eggs taken from an egg-hen breeding farm; the follow¬ ing operations have been carried out as disclosed for Simple 1. SAMPLE3 The egg shell has been soiled by using pure cultures, mutu¬ ally blended, of E. Coli and S. typhimuriu . Even in this case, SUBSTITUTE SHEET the following operations have been carried out as therein above disclosed . SAMPLE4 Commercially available eggs have been used the shells of which were not soiled in any manners. For washing the shells, aqueous solutions containing the composition of the invention as disclosed in Example 1 and having the following concentrations have been used: for Samples 1 and 2: 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 and 1.2%; for Samples 3 and 4 Shellwashingmethod Upon processing as above disclosed, all the eggs were im¬ mersed for two minutes into one of the above disclosed solution, or in a physiologic solution (a control set) held at room temperature; then they were accurately washed by using bristle brushes. Upon holding the eggs at room temperature for an hour so as to allow their shells to dry, they were washed again by a pep- tonized physiologic solution (20 ml for egg) by using again sterilized brushes. The thus obtained washing liquid was diluted according to 10-base logarithmic units up to 10 "6 , and the several dilutions were been used for seeding the different cul¬ ture media. Bacteriologicaltests All of the bacteriological analyses were performed by using DIFCO R soils or media and, more specifically: SUBSTITUTE SHEET - for determining the total bacterial load a Bacto plate count agar was used; - for the colimetry and counting E. Coli Bacto violet red bile agar was used; - for counting Salmonellae a Bacto brilliant green agar was used. The used procedures are conventionally known ones. The results of the bacteriological tests have been col¬ lected in the following Table 6. SUBSTITUTE SHEET TABLE 6 Bacteriological tests on eggs of Samples 1-4 WASHING UFC7EGG UFC/EGG E.COUEGG S. TYPHIMU- SOLUTION TOTAL BACTERIAL COUMEASUREMENT RIUM/EGG CONCENTRATION LOAD SAMPLE 1 Control Set 8.0 • 10 5 3.0 ■ 10 4 0.2% 4.8 ■ 20 5 2.5 • 10 4 BB 0.4% 2.0 • 10 5 9.0 *10 3 BB 0.6% 3.2 • 10 4 3.0 • 10 3 BB 0.8% 8.8 • 10 3 4.4 * 10 2 BB 1.0% 7.7 • 10 2 9.0 *10 1 BB 1.2% 6.0 • 10 2 7.3 • 10 1 BB SAMPLE 2 Control Set 1.7 *10 7 BB 0.2% 9.0 • 10 6 BB 0.4% 3.2 • 10 6 BB 0.6% 6.4 • 10 5 BB 0.8% 2,8 • 10 5 BB 1.0% 7.6 *10 4 BB 1.2% 6.4 • 10 4 _____ BB SEMPLE 3 Control Set BB 6.1 • 10 * 3,9 • 10' 1,0% BB 8.4 • 10 2 1,2*10 SAMPLE 4 Control Set 7.6 -10 BB 1.0% 3.2 • 10 c BB *By UFC there are meant colony forming units. SUBSTITUTE SHEET Each value of the above Table represents the numeric aver¬ age of 10 analyses each performed on 12 eggs. The several solutions of the product being tested facili¬ tate the egg washing operations, with results which are directly proportional to the concentration of the used composition; this advantage could be enhanced by performing the washing operation at a temperature of 37-40°C, as conventionally used for washing eggs ( the latter mentioned tests were carried out at room temperature). The above mentioned composition, moreover, is suitable to greatly improve the aesthetical aspect of the shell, since it makes the shell brighter and whiter; this effect is maximum as the concentration of the used solution is 0.6%. The microbiological effects are directly proportional to the concentration of the solution used for washing the shells; the effect is nearly zero or negligible up to a value of 0.6% of the solution concentration, but it is particularly evident at a concentration of 1%, for which the reduction of the number values of the microorganisms is of three logarithmic units. The subject composition has been found to be particularly efficient for de¬ contaminating shells from Salmonella. In this connection it should be pointed out that usually the soilings of the shells are much smaller than those artifi¬ cially made in order to stress the advantages of the composition according to the present invention. SUBSTITUTE SHEET EXAMPLE5 Persistenceoftheinventivecompositionontheskinofpoultry The persistence of the components of the inventive composi¬ tion, as disclosed in Example 1, on skin of poultry processed by a solution at 0.15% of the same has been evaluated after the poultry stunning and bleeding steps, and before the plucking step. 50 animals having an average weight of 1.800 kg have been used: a first set of 25 animals have been subjected to conven¬ tional slaughtering and carcass preparing procedures (immersion into water warmed to 55°C, feather removing, washing and entrails removing steps) by adding to the water bath into which the ani¬ mals were immersed, before removing feathers, an amount of the above mentioned composition suitable to provide a concentration of 0.15%. A second set of 25 animals were subjected to the same ex¬ perimental procedure by adding to the warm water bath an amount of the above mentioned composition suitable to provide a concen¬ tration of 0.075%. The animals were divided into 5 sets (each of 5 animals) of which 1 set (a control set) was immersed into worm water not con¬ taining the inventive composition, whereas the other 4 sets were immersed into the above disclosed solutions. For all the sets, the immersion period was of 20 seconds. Of the 4 sets processed by the solution being tested at the SUBSTITUTE SHEET two mentioned different concentrations, a set (SET A) after the feather removing step was not subjected to any further washing process; a second set (SET B) was successively washed by 350 ml of water percolated onto the animal; a third set (SET C) was washed by 700 ml of water for animal; finally, a fourth set (SET D) was washed by 1050 ml of water for animal. From all the animals were taken, at the end of the prepar¬ ing step, 25 g of skin, which were finely homogenized by Ultra- turax R, by adding to each sample 125 ml of bidistilled water. The homogenized material was subjected to a double filtering operation on an absorbing paper and the filtered liquid was used for analysis. By using known methods, the biologic meaning residues, in particular sodium ethasilicate and sodium alkylarylsulphonate were determined. PersistenceofSi0 2 residuesonthepoultryskin The results related to this test have been shown in the following Table 7. SUBSTITUTE SHEET TABLE 7 Siθ2 residues on the poultry skin Set No. Si0 2 found O Siθ2 calculated (**) of animals ppm/skin ppm/animal CONCENTRATION OF 0, 15% Controls 5 0 0 A animals not washed 5 46,7 1 ,86 B animals washed 5 34,3 1 ,37 by 350 ml/animal C animals washed 5 36,5 1 ,46 by 700 ml/animal D animals washed 5 35,2 1 ,40 by 1050 ml/animal CONCENTRATION OF 0, 15% Controls 5 0 0 A animals not washed 5 23,7 0,92 B animals washed 5 16,3 0,65 by 350 ml/animal C animals washed 5 17,2 0.69 by 700 ml/animal D animals washed 5 15,9 0,63 by 1050 ml/animal ( * ) μg Si0 2 / g skin ( ** ) Since the skin constitutes about 4 % of the animal body weight, the concentration of Si0 2 has been referred to the total carcass ( μg/g animal ) SUBSTITUTE SHEET The silicon bioxide, in the amounts included in the animal carcass as shown by these analyses does not cause any toxic ef¬ fect. Persistenceofsodiumalkylarylsulphonateresiduesonthepoultryskins The results related to this test have been shown in the following Table 8. TABLE 8 Residues of sodium alkylarylsulphonate (ABS) on the pourlty skins Set No. Siθ2 found (*) Siθ2 calculated (**) of animals ppm/skin ppm/animal CONCENTRATION OF 0, 15% Controls 5 0 0 A animals not washed 5 1.9 0,076 B animals washed by 350 ml/animal 5 1.0 0,040 C animals washed by 700 ml/animal 5 0.4 0,016 D animals washed by 1050 ml animal 5 0 0 CONCENTRATION OF 0, 15% Controls 5 0 0 A animals not washed 5 0.9 0.036 B animals washed by 350 ml/animal 5 0.5 0.020 C animals washed by 700 ml/animal 5 0.20 0.008 D animals washed by 1050 ml animal 5 0 0 ( * ) μg Si0 2 / g skin ( ** ) Since the skin constitutes about 4 % of the animal body weight, the sodium alkylbenzene sulphonate concentration has been referred to the total carcass ( μg/g animal ) SUBSTITUTE SHEET AS shown by the above results, no alkylaryl sulphonate re¬ sidue is found on the poultry skin after washing the animals (sensibility of the analysis method: 0.1 ppm). Even by admitting residues of ABS on the poultry skin less than 0. 1 ppm, the toxic effects of this substance, at such a dose, are practically zero. In this connection, the CEE Rule of the Counsel of September 18, 1979 , bearing the 6th modification of the CEE Rule 67D548 of the GEE Official Gazette L259 of October 15,1979, considers ABS has not noxiuous, since the DLso, as determined orally and cu- taneously in rat and rabbit is greater than 2000 mg/kg. In view of the good results obtained on the surfaces of Lood products of animal origin, the composition according to the present invention has been also tested on vegetable food pro¬ ducts, in particular on vegetables and fruit. Since it is practically impossible to test the effect of the subject composition on all the noxious substances used in ag¬ riculture, the tests have been limited to the removal of residues pertaining to the fertilizer class both of chemical and biologi¬ cal nature For the test were used 6 sets (including 3 control sets) of the following vegetable products, representative of vegetables: carrots, tomatoes, peppers, fennels and of the following fruit: apples, pears, peaches, apricots. For simulating the fertilization processing of the pro¬ ducts, No. 2 samples were then prepared: SUBSTITUTE SHEET SAMPLENo.1 To a physiological solution were added 5 g/each of the fol¬ lowing phosphate fertilizers (sodium persphosphate), nitric fertilizers (ammonium sulphate) and potassium fertilizers (potassium carbonate) so as to provide a homogeneous solution. Into this bath was immersed for few seconds the first set includ¬ ing vegetables and fruit; then it was allowed to dry for 24 hours in order to allow the material to dry on the surfaces. SAMPLENo_2 Into a second physiological solution poultry excrements have been homogenized so as to provide a homogeneous slurry. After having divided this slurry into two portions, into one was immersed for few seconds the 2nd set including vegetables; into the 2nd slurry portion was immersed, for few seconds, the 3rd set comprising fruit. Both these sets were left to dry for 24 hours, at room temperature. The same processing method for Samples 1 and 2 was applied to the three control sets. After 24 hours from the artificial soiling operations on the food products, the samples of 1st, 2nd and 3rd sets were sub¬ jected to a leaching operation for three minutes in a solution holding 1% of the inventive composition, at room temperature. Then, all the three sets were abundantly rinsed and left to rest for an hour. Then, all the three sets were been washed by a physiological solution (50ml/50g vegetable) and the obtained li- SUBSTITUTE SHEET quids were respectively subjected to analysis; the 1st set to a chemical analysis in order to show the chemical fertilizer resi¬ dues (phosphate, nitrate and potassium residues), which, being all soluble in the rinsing water provided a zero result, thereby confirming a decontamination of 100%. The washing liquids obtai¬ ned from the 2nd and 3rd set contaminated by excrements, were subjected to an analysis by known bacteriological methods in or¬ der to find the total bacterial or microbial load. That same tre¬ atment, with the exclusion of the leaching step by the inventive solution, was performed on the control sets. The related results are shown in the following Tables 9 and 10. TABLE 9 Residues of phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium fertilizer after a processing by an inventive solution at 1% Set No. 1 Number Residues found ppm/g skin control 4 40 vegetables 4 0 fruit 4 0 SUBSTITUTE SHEET TABLE 10 Bacteriological tests on the vegetables and fruit of sets 2 and 3 Concentration of the washing solution: 1% UFC/piece total microbial load Control set No.2 8.0-10 4 carrots 5.1 -10 tomato 2.4-10 pepper 3.0-10 fennels 4.2-10 Control set No.3 8.0-10 4 apples 3.4-10 pears 2.4-10 peaches 4.1 - 10 apricots 3.6-10 It was possible to perform these tests since the vegetable and fruit samples were provided with firm outer fibre surfaces; thereby the obtained results can be considered as meaningful and interesting for all the improving operations on the hygienic and microbiological quality of vegetable origin food products too, both provided for a direct consume and provided for industrial transforming and preserving processes. SUBSTITUTESHEET

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A composition useful for eliminating unsanitary residues from the surfaces of food products of animal and vegetable origin, comprising sodium sulphate in an amount from 10 to 25% by weight; carboxymethylcellulose in an amount from 0.4 to 6%; pro- pylenglycol in an amount from 0.5 to 5%; at least a surface ac¬ tive agent selected from the class of sodium or trietranolamine alkyl-benzene sulphonates in an amount from 1 to 7%; at least a bleaching agent selected from sodium carbonate, sodium bicar¬ bonate and potassium carbonate, in an amount from 5 to 14%; at least a sequestering agent selected from sodium esametha¬ phosphate, sodium tripolyphosphate and trisodium edetate, in an amount from 4 to 8%; at least an antidehydrating agent selected from urea and sodium chloride, in an amount from 1 to 7.5%; at least a buffering agent selected from sorbic acid, citric acid, and malic acid, in an amount from 0.5 to 2%; at least an emulsi¬ fying agent selected from sodium methasilicate and sodium ortho- phosphate in an amount from 30 and 70%. 2. A Composition according to Claim 1,characterized Inthat said sodium sulphate is present in an amount of 14% by weight. 3. A composition according to claim l,characterized inthat said carboxymethylcellulose is present in an amount of 1% by weight. 4. A composition according to Claim l, characterized inthat said propylenglycol is present in an amount of 1% by weight. 5. A composition according to Claim l, characterized inthat SUBSTITUTE SHEET said surface active agent is triethnolamine alkyl-benzene-sul- phonate having either a straight or a branched alkyl chain com¬ prising from 4 to 8 carbon atoms, and being present in an amount of 2% by weight. 6. A composition according to claim l, characterized in that said bleaching agent is sodium carbonate and being present in an amount of 8% by weight. 7. A composition according to Claim l, characterized inthat said sequestering agent is sodium esamethaphosphate, and being present in an amount of 6% by weight 8. A composition according to Claim l, characterized in that said anti-dehydrating agent is urea, and being present in an amount of 2% by weight. 9. A composition according to Claim l, characterized inthat said buffering agent is malic acid, and being present in an amount of 1% by weight. 10. A composition according to Claim 1,characterized In that said emulsifying agent is sodium methasilicate, and being present in an amount of 65% by weight. 11. A composition according to Claim l, characterized inthat said composition is used for eliminating or removing unsanitary residues from the surfaces of bird and swine meats and from egg shells, as well as from vegetable products such as vegetables and fruit. 12. A method for eliminating unsanitary residues, from sur- SUBSTITUTE SHEET faces of food product of animal and vegetable origin, comprising the steps of subjecting said food product to a washing by an aqueous solution containing 0.05-1.5% by weight of a composition comprising sodium sulphate in an amount from 10 to 25% by weight, carboxymethylcellulose in an amount from 0.4 to 6%; propylengly- col in an amount from 0.5 to 5%; at least a surface active agent selected from the class of sodium or triethanolamine alkyl-ben- zene-sulphonates in an amount from 1 to 7%; at least a bleaching agent selected from sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and potassium carbonate, in an amount from 5 to 14%; at least a sequestering agent selected from sodium esamethaphosphate, sodium tripolyphosphate and trisodium edetate, in an amount from 4 to 8%; at least an anti-dehydrating agent selected from urea and sodium chloride, in an amount from 1 to 7.5%; at least a buffering agent selected from sorbic acid, citric acid and malic acid, in an amount from 0.5 to 2%; at least an emulsifying agent selected from sodium methasilicate and sodium orthophosphate, in an amount from 30 to 70%; and at a temperature from 15 to 65 C for a time from 60 seconds to 6 minutes, and then rinsing by water. 13. A method according to Claim 12, characterized inthat said food products comprise bird and swine meat, and that said method is carried out during the process steps of the scalding bath and/or plucking, pile removing and entrails removing of the slaughtered animals. 14. A method according to Claims 12 and 13, characterized " SUBSTITUTE SHEET in that during said scalding step the food product is immersed into an aqueous solution containing from 0.1 to 0.3% of said com¬ position. 15. A method according to Claims 12 and 13, Characterized in that during said plucking or pile removal steps and/or after said entrails removing step, said food product is washed by an aqueous solution containing from 0. 05 to 0.2% of said composition. 16. A method according to Claims 12 and 13, Characterized in that, during said scalding bath step, an ionized air stream is blown into the washing bath water. 17. A method according to cliaim 12, characterized inthat said food products comprise eggs and vegetable products such as fruits and vegetables, and that said method is carried out at a tempera¬ ture from 20°C to 35 β C. 18. A method for eliminating unsanitary residues of chemi¬ cal and microbiological nature from surfaces of food products of vegetable origin, in particular vegetables and fruit, Characterized inthat said method comprises the step of subjecting said food pro¬ duct to a washing by an aqueous solution containing from 0.10 to 3% of said composition, according to one or more of Claims 1 to 11, at a temperature from 15 β C to 40°C, for a time variable de¬ pending on the vegetable species of the food product and on the manual or automatic washing type, in all of the transforming and preserving steps, both of industrial processes and provided for a direct consume. SUBSTITUTE SHEET

Inventors: BALSANO ANTONIO RENATO, BALSANO, ANTONIO, RENATO
Applicants: BALSANO ANTONIO R, BALSANO CHIMICA IND, BALSANO, ANTONIO, RENATO, CHIMICA INDUSTRIALE DR. BALSANO
Application year: 1995
Main classification: A23P1
IPC codes: A22C17, A22C21, A23B4, A23B7, A23L1, A23L3, A23N12, C11D1, C11D3