Patent ID: 7507429

Claim:
A method of reducing a microbial population on carcass, meat, or meat product during processing comprising: applying to the carcass, meat, or meat product during processing a medium chain peroxycarboxylic acid antimicrobial composition in an amount and time sufficient to reduce the microbial population; the medium chain peroxycarboxylic acid antimicrobial composition consisting essentially of: a peroxycarboxylic acid consisting of about 2 to about 500 ppm peroxyoctanoic acid; about 5 to about 2000 ppm octanoic acid; about 95 to about 99.99 wt-% water; and about 2 to about 23,000 ppm polyalkylene oxide, monoalkyl ether of polyalkylene oxide, dialkyl ether of polyalkylene oxide, nonionic surfactant, anionic surfactant, or mixture thereof; the composition comprising at least about 2 parts by weight of peroxyoctanoic acid for each 7 parts by weight of octanoic acid.