Following full installation and 30 days implementation, EAU Technologies’ Empowered Water is helping Murray’s Chicken–a family-run poultry processor based in South Fallsburg, New York–score high marks in exceeding Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS) standards. Since it began using Empowered Water as part of its sanitation process, Murray’s has yet to receive any positive test results for Salmonella. FSIS industry standards allow processors to show positive incidents of Salmonella up to 10 percent and still fall within acceptable Category One requirements.
“Falling within the guidelines is good, but with food safety, we think it’s better to go beyond them,” says Dean Koplik, president of Murray’s Chicken. “EAU’s Empowered Water has proven to be highly effective in reducing pathogens on the birds as well as looking promising as a surface cleaning agent in the plant. Also, because it is created using natural ingredients, using Empowered Water supports our commitment to the environment.”
Empowered Water by EAU, is electrolyzed water created by combining salt and water with an electrical charge. The process separates the positive and negative ions of water, creating two forms of water, one very acidic and one very alkaline. The alkaline EO water is used to clean the chicken, followed by a rinse of the electrolyzed acidic water to kill any remaining food-borne pathogens. Empowered Water has been proven non-toxic and environmentally friendly when used at approved concentrations. Successful trials, including several at the University of Georgia, have shown that electrolyzed water is highly effective at killing food-borne bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, without affecting the quality of the food.
In January 2008, The FSIS announced new policies and practices targeting its Salmonella verification sampling program. The proposal is part of an overall initiative to raise performance standards among poultry and beef processing plants in testing and eliminating Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, and Listeria within the plant.
EAU Technologies provides Empowered Water for high-volume, business-to-business applications. EAU’s industrial application is able to produce volumes of its Empowered Water scaling from 0.5 up to 90 gallons per minute.
“We are pleased with the performance of our Empowered Water at the Murray’s Chicken plant as an environmentally friendly alternative for cleaning and removing pathogens on a commercial level,” says Wade Bradley, CEO of EAU Technologies Inc. “We believe that Murray’s pioneering of this technology will continue to serve them–and their customers–well.”