'Flash' Forward?
Industry hopes high-intensity lighting technology can help combat microbial contamination
by Larry Aylward, managing editor
New technology may soon shine its bright light on the meat industry.
The technology utilizes "short, high-intensity pulses" of light energy and is said to be effective in killing microorganisms and inactivating enzymes. The light energy is said to be 20,000 times brighter than sunlight is at the Earth's surface, but radiation is not involved. It is currently being reviewed by FDA, and is not yet available commercially.
"We've performed tests, and we've found (the technology) is very effective for killing pathogens on raw meat," claims the president of the company that developed the process.
Sanitation, specifically the reduction of harmful pathogens, has been a hot topic in the industry, especially since last year's outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 in the Pacific Northwest. The industry is searching for safe methods to rid raw meat of pathogens that can cause food-borne bacterial illness and death.
James Marsden, AMI's vice president of scientific and technical affairs, says the light energy technology "holds a lot of promise for fresh meat."
"The meat supply in the United States is safe, but obviously not safe enough," Marsden adds. "I think you'll see (the technology) used in a wide breadth of the food industry."
The high-intensity lighting technology passed Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Environmental Protection Agency requirements. But the inventor of the technology points out that it shouldn't be regarded as a total sterilizer or, in essence, the industry's saving grace.
"With food products like meat, where the surface is rough and there are pores and cracks, the process can significantly reduce microorganisms. But it's not a sterilization process," he adds. "It's a significant hurdle in that it decreases the likelihood of contamination reaching consumers."
Marsden agrees that the high-intensity lighting process alone will not win the industry's war against microbial contamination. "The best we can hope for is that this technology will result in a reduction of (pathogens), not a total elimination," he says.
The process is being used on vegetables. Ripe tomatoes, for example, held at refrigerator temperature will retain marketable qualities for more than 30 days, while at the same time untreated samples show mold and physical deterioration. Tests show that shrimp are also preserved longer after being exposed to the light's flash.
The company that invented the technology claims a "significant reduction of listeria and salmonella inoculations can be achieved on surfaces of fresh and prepared meats" without resulting in a measurable change in vitamin content or organoleptic properties of processed meat.
The cost of the technology and the equipment depends on a processor's or meat packer's throughput. The inventor insists, though, that the technology is economical. The high-intensity lighting can be used in-line, probably in a chamber. Space occupation is also determined by production.
Marsden agrees that the technology may be "revolutionary," but he reaffirms that the industry must rely on more than one technique to help achieve the ultimate in pathogen reduction. He adds that the industry may utilize trisodium phosphates and organic acids as part of the process.
A combination of treatments could be the key, including the use of high-intensity lighting on meat carcasses to reduce surface bacteria. After a dose of high-intensity light, a carcass could be passed through a pre-evisceration organic acid spray and then a post-evisceration application of trisodium phosphates.
"If you substantially reduce the surface bacteria, there's less opportunity for contamination as the product moves downstream," Marsden adds.
There is a people factor, too. One source, whose company manufacturers sanitation products and helps implement assurance programs, says plant employees need to be instructed to properly follow the protocol of a sanitation program. The source also points out that Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point programs are crucial to successful programs.
Low-dose irradiation may be in the red meat industry's future, but other pathogen reduction methods-including chemicals and possibly high intensity lighting-will probably still be utilized, Marsden says.
"The industry has to solve these problems. It's as simple as that," Marsden points out. "If we don't solve them, we're in for some major problems ahead."