Validation of SANOVA Treatment on the Aerobic Plate Count (APC), Total Coliform and Generic E. coli Populations of Post-Chill Beef Carcasses

Findings: SANOVA treatment of post chill beef carcasses significantly reduced the microbial contamination. Data collected over the two days of testing show significantly higher contamination on the first day of testing with 15 of 20 swab samples having Escherichia coli levels of 10-100 CFU/cm2. No E. coli was detected after SANOVA treatment for all 40 swab samples and all 10 excision samples. SANOVA treatment also reduced total coliforms to below detection limit for 38 of 40 swab samples and 7 of 8 excision samples. Aerobic plate count was reduced on average from 203,509 CFU/cm2 to 58 CFU/cm2 (swabs) and from 601,170 CFU/cm2 to 770 CFU/cm2 on excision samples (99% reduction for both sampling methods).