Cargill installs SonoSteam technology to tackle Campylobacter
Posted: 17 September 2015 | Victoria White | No comments yet
SonoSteam uses a combination of steam and ultrasound to kill microorganisms such as Campylobacter on the skin and internal cavities of chicken…
Cargill is to introduce an SonoSteam technology at its Hereford primary chicken processing plant in the UK, as part of its farm-to-fork action plan to tackle Campylobacter.
SonoSteam uses a combination of steam and ultrasound to kill microorganisms such as Campylobacter on the skin and internal cavities of chicken. The new technology is expected to be operational at Cargill’s Hereford facility by end of 2015.
Chris Hall, Fresh Chicken Director for Cargill Meats Europe, said “Cargill takes its responsibility for food safety very seriously, and we know that reducing Campylobacter levels requires interventions across the whole supply chain. We focused initially on our farms and primary processing and analysing our results in the first half of this year we have seen an improvement year on year of approximately 38%. However there is still more to do. We have been following the development of new technologies very closely and made the commitment that we would adopt one as soon as it proved effective. We are very excited to be taking these next steps with FORCE Technology.”
Steve Wearne, Food Standards Agency (FSA) Director of Policy said, “We welcome Cargill’s introduction of SonoSteam to its Hereford plant as part of its farm-to-fork action plan to reduce Campylobacter on chickens. SonoSteam is an innovative and effective way of reducing Campylobacter levels and Cargill should be applauded for making this investment in the fight against the bug. We look forward to seeing lower levels of Campylobacter on chickens sourced from Cargill on sale in shops and supermarkets.”
Over the last two years, Cargill has invested over £35 million to improve efficiencies, upgrade technologies and create a state of the art processing plant in Hereford. A number of these investments have enhanced Cargill’s commitment to reducing Campylobacter levels including the installation of a new £11million state-of-the-art chiller, as well as ultraviolet light (UV) finished pack decontamination equipment.
