BIOCIDAL ACTIVITY OF A PEROXIDASE-CATALYZED SANITIZER AGAINST SELECTED BACTERIA ON INERT CARRIERS AND EGG-SHELLS

Microbial contamination of table eggs has become an important public h ealth problem. In this study, peroxidase-catalyzed compound (PCC), whi ch is innocuous to humans, was tested for its bactericidal activity on a variety of bacteria on inert carriers and on egg shell surfaces. Wh en inert carriers containing Salmonella choleraesuis, Staphylococcus a ureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were exposed to PCC, population reduc tions were within acceptable performance standards for standard and si mulated hard water conditions. When evaluated for sporicidal activity, PCC gave no positive carriers in a total of 60 carriers tested for ei ther Bacillus subtilis or Clostridium sporogenes. Enterococcus faecali s and Pseudomonas fluorescens viable cells on egg shell surfaces were determined after dip treatment with deionized distilled water, PCC or chlorine-treated (200 ppm) water for 1, 3 and 5 min and compared with those of a control without dip treatment. All treatments significantly reduced the viable cells (log(10) CPU/egg) compared to controls for b oth strains (p<0.05). Populations of both strains surviving chlorine a nd PCC were significantly lower than surviving deionized-distilled wat er, although PCC gave higher recoveries than chlorine (p<0.05). Popula tions exposed to PCC treatment were significantly decreased after 3 an d 5 min, respectively (p<0.05). The results of this study indicate tha t PCC has potential as a table egg sanitizer that could replace the ot her egg sanitizers which may be environmentally problematic. Based on the inert carrier studies, PCC may also be an effective disinfectant f or egg processing equipment and plastic egg cartons in the presence of hard water or contaminating soil.