Cetylpyridinium chloride may prevent Salmonella

5/19/2000-According to a report in The MEATing Place, an Arkansas researcher has proposed that cetylpyridinium chloride, the active ingredient in some mouthwashes, may be used to clean pathogens from chicken carcasses. FSIS has agreed to sample poultry carcasses after post-chill treatment (without rinsing) with cetylpyridinium chloride, Amy Waldroup, a professor in the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, told attendees at the 2000 Poultry Processors Workshop Thursday. The antimicrobial also kills campylobacter and Listeria, and extends product shelf life by two to three days, said Waldroup. Treatment costs average about 80 cents per hundred birds. Waldroup said the promising application for this product is on fully cooked, ready-to-eat products because it kills Listeria. Waldroup said she is currently petitioning FSIS to approve cetylpyridinium chloride as a food additive and hopes to gain approval this year, perhaps by the end of summer.