Systems and methods for controlling water quality in food processing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11213041-B2
Application number	US-201815944273-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 3, 2018
Priority date	Apr 3, 2017
Publication date	Jan 4, 2022
Grant date	Jan 4, 2022

Abstract

A chiller bath includes a tank for holding a volume of chiller water; a dosing system for dosing a first solution and a second solution into the chiller water, arranged to create a plurality of zones within the volume of water, wherein each zone has a higher concentration of either the first or the second solution than surrounding portions of the volume of water; and a meat or poultry immersion arrangement for immersing and moving carcasses in the chiller water. A method for reducing bacterial load on meat or poultry includes generating a plurality of zones within a chiller bath containing water by dosing a source of alkalinity and antimicrobial into the water, wherein the plurality of zones comprises at least one alkaline zone with a pH above 8.5, and at least one antimicrobial zone with pH below 8.5; and submersing meat or poultry in the bath. The zones can also be generated using spray nozzles in a meat or poultry operation.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for reducing bacterial load on meat or poultry in a chiller, the method comprising:
adding a peracid to water in the chiller at a rate of 0.4 to 40 gallons per minute to create at least one peracid zone extending across the width of the chiller comprising a pH below the pKa of the peracid;
adding a source of alkalinity into the water at a rate of 0.4 to 40 gallons per minute to create at least one alkaline zone extending substantially across the width of the chiller, comprising a pH above a pKa of the peracid;
submersing meat or poultry in the chiller; and
transporting the meat or the poultry along the length of the chiller where the meat or the poultry is submersed in the alkaline zone for a period of time and the peracid zone for a period of time.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the peracid comprises peracetic acid.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pKa is about 8.2 to about 8.4.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the alkaline zone has a pH of about 8.5 to about 12.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the peracid zone has a pH of about 4 to about 8.5.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the peracid has a concentration of about 25 to about 150 ppm within the peracid zone when measured under acidic conditions.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the peracid is added continuously and the source of alkalinity is added intermittently.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the peracid is added continuously, the source of alkalinity is added continuously, or both.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the source of alkalinity and the peracid are added alternatingly or intermittently.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the source of alkalinity and the peracid are added into a water input line.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the source of alkalinity is added at intervals based on a flow rate of water in the chiller and volume of the chiller.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the peracid is added at intervals based on a flow rate of water in the chiller and volume of the chiller.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the source of alkalinity and the peracid are added to create plug flows of source of alkalinity and of peracid in the water input line.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the meat or poultry are moved in the chiller in a first direction, and the plurality of zones move in a second direction opposite of the first direction.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the chiller comprises from one to four peracid zones and from one to four alkaline zones.

16. A method for reducing bacterial load in a chiller comprising a water input line, the method comprising:
alternatingly adding a source of alkalinity and a peracid into the water input line;
generating a plurality of zones in the chiller,
wherein the plurality of zones comprise:
at least one peracid zone extending across the width of the chiller comprising a pH below a pKa of the peracid; and
at least one alkaline zone extending about across the width of the chiller, comprising a pH above the pKa of the peracid.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the peracid comprises peracetic acid.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the pKa is about 8.2 to about 8.4.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the alkaline zone has a pH of about 8.5 to about 12.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the peracid zone has a pH of about 4 to about 8.5.

21. The method of claim 16 , wherein the source of alkalinity and the peracid are added to create plug flows of source of alkalinity and of peracid in the water input line.

22. The method of claim 16 , wherein the source of alkalinity is added at intervals based on a flow rate of water in the chiller and volume of the chiller.

23. The method of claim 16 , wherein the peracid is added at intervals based on a flow rate of water in the chiller and volume of the chiller.

24. The method of claim 16 , wherein meat or poultry are moved in the chiller in a first direction, and the plurality of zones move in a second direction opposite of the first direction.

25. A method for reducing bacterial load on meat or poultry in a chiller, the method comprising:
adding an antimicrobial to water in the chiller at a rate of OA to 40 gallons per minute to create at least one antimicrobial zone extending substantially across the width of the chiller; comprising a pH below 8.5;
adding a source of alkalinity to the water in the chiller at a rate of 0.4 to 40 gallons per minute to create at least one alkaline zone extending across the width of the chiller, comprising a pH above 8.5;
submersing meal: or poultry in the chiller; and
transporting the meat or the poultry along the length of the chiller where the meat or the poultry is submersed in the alkaline zone for a period of time and the antimicrobial zone for a period of time.

26. The method of claim 25 , wherein the antimicrobial is selected from the group consisting of a peracid, sodium hypochlorite, hypochlorous acid, acidified sodium chlorite, and mixtures thereof.

27. The method of claim 25 , wherein the alkaline zone has a pH of about 8.5 to about 12.

28. The method of claim 25 , wherein the antimicrobial zone has a pH of about 4 to about 8.5.

29. The method of claim 25 , wherein the antimicrobial has a concentration of about 25 to about 150 ppm within the antimicrobial zone when measured under acidic conditions.

30. The method of claim 25 , wherein the antimicrobial is added continuously and the source of alkalinity is added intermittently.

31. The method of claim 25 , wherein the antimicrobial is added continuously, the source of alkalinity is added continuously, or both.

32. The method of claim 25 , wherein the source of alkalinity and the antimicrobial are added alternatingly or intermittently.

33. The method of claim 25 , wherein the source of alkalinity and the antimicrobial are added into a water input line.

34. The method of claim 25 , wherein the source of alkalinity and the antimicrobial are added directly into the chiller tank.

35. The method of claim 25 , wherein the source of alkalinity is added at intervals based on a flow rate of water in the chiller and volume of the chiller.

36. The method of claim 25 , wherein the antimicrobial is added at intervals based on a flow rate of water in the chiller and volume of the chiller.

37. The method of claim 25 , wherein the source of alkalinity and the antimicrobial are added to create plug flows of source of alkalinity and of antimicrobial in the water input line.

38. The method of claim 25 , wherein the meat or poultry are moved in the chiller in a first direction, and the plurality of zones move in a second direction opposite of the first direction.

39. The method of claim 25 , wherein the chiller comprises from one to four antimicrobial zones and from one to four alkaline zones.

40. A method for reducing bacterial load in a chiller comprising water input line, the method comprising:
alternatingly adding a source of alkalinity and an antimicrobial into the water input line;
generating a plurality of zones in the chiller bath, wherein the plurality of zones comprise:
at least one antimicrobial zon

Assignees

• Ecolab Usa Inc

Inventors

• Walsh Richard Joseph
• Coby William
• Leishman Oriana Nicole

Classifications

• A23B4/20

  Organic compounds; Microorganisms; Enzymes · CPC title

• A22C21/0061

  Cleaning or disinfecting poultry · CPC title

• A23B4/24

  Inorganic compounds · CPC title

• A23B4/26

  Apparatus for preserving using liquids {; Processes therefor} · CPC title

• A22C29/00

  Processing shellfish {or bivalves}, e.g. oysters, lobsters; {Devices therefor, e.g. claw locks, claw crushers, grading devices; Processing lines} · CPC title