The USDA’s March announcement of new performance standards for commercial poultry production facilities has many operators looking for better ways to control foodborne pathogens. The agency’s new standard for salmonella allows a maximum of 7.5 percent of raw chickens to test positive, and the new Campylobacter standard allows a maximum of 10.4 percent of raw chickens and 0.79 percent of raw turkeys to test positive.
According to American Water Purification, Inc.’s (AWPI) CEO Dan Gates, AWPI’s new hot water recovery system can facilitate better pathogen control by maintaining a cleaner environment in the scalder.
“We’ve had interest in the hot water recovery system based on the incoming water cost reduction it brings to the scalder process,” said Gates, “but by doubling the volume of water we catch and clean with the system, we can also provide cleaner water in the scalder, which would enhance pathogen control.”
AWPI’s system uses a patented process, utilizing microceramic filtration, to reduce incoming water costs by sanitizing chicken scalder overflow water to USDA-approved standards, then returning it to the front end of the system. In terms of water, discharge and energy use, the unit saves enough money that installation costs can be recovered in the first few months of use.