Slaughterhouses

In the work carried out in food processing centers, specifically in the meat industry, there is exposure to biological agents as a result of the probable presence of microorganisms in the animal, its products, and the work environment. In slaughterhouses, Royal Decree 664/1997 on the protection of workers is applied. The main health hazards for workers in the meat industry are infectious or parasitic diseases transmitted to humans by animals and/or their products or corpses, known as zoonoses (tuberculosis, brucellosis, etc.). Respiratory disorders, allergies, and eczema are also frequent.

One of the main concerns of this sector is to guarantee the safety and quality of the product, due to its impact on consumer health, as diseases transmitted by food can occur. Zero risk does not exist, and in some cases, accidents can occur for many reasons.

Each process carried out in a slaughterhouse has its own protocol to avoid contamination and biological risk.

1. Transportation, reception, and stabling
2. Stunning
3. Slaughter, bleeding, and dressing
4. Skinning or scalding, flaying, and singeing
5. Evisceration and carcass splitting
6. Cutting and boning

Within these processes, the extraction of the viscera presents the highest risk of contamination since if it is not done quickly and precisely, contaminations from the animal’s intestinal tract can occur.

The biological agents present in slaughterhouses can come from multiple sources: sick animals and asymptomatic carrier animals, which are the main source of exposure to pathogenic agents (zoonoses). The external parts of the animal (skin, hooves), contaminated elements (manure, beddings, machinery, tools, etc.), the air conditioning-ventilation system, the outside air, the worker himself, etc., which are the source of microorganisms known in this sector as meat spoilage agents.

These spoilage microorganisms find in meat the ideal reservoir to multiply, and the activities carried out in the slaughterhouse facilitate their dispersion, sometimes in the form of bioaerosols. Some are opportunistic pathogens or can generate sensitization processes. Among them, we can find:

• Bacteria such as Acinetobacter, Alcaligenes, Moraxella, Pseudomonas, Enterobacteriaceae, Micrococcus, Staphylococcus, Lactobacillus, Clostridium, Brochothrix, etc.
• Molds and yeasts such as Thamnidium, Cladosporium, Geotrichum, Sporotrichum, Mucor, Penicillium, Alternaria, Monilia, Aspergillus glaucus, Trichosporon scotti, etc.
• Starter cultures or starter cultures that are used in different processes of meat product elaboration.

There are few studies on the concentration and composition of bioaerosols present in the work environment of the meat industry (slaughterhouse, cutting rooms, processing rooms, drying rooms, and sausage maturation rooms), making it difficult to establish a relationship between the exposure dose and the harm to the worker’s health who inhales them.

PUROH has introduced a revolutionary prevention technology to help veterinarians and technical managers in the meat industry to apply preventive measures, in addition to using appropriate PPE. Until now, the way to clean the air of biological agents was by installing filtration systems with passive technology or mechanical ventilation with external air renewal, or by using PPE such as HEPA masks.

PUROH has developed a revolutionary device for environmental hygiene in slaughterhouses where standard air purifiers are not an efficient or recommended option. PUROH generates a radical reaction of neutral OH· that quickly spreads in humid environments such as a slaughterhouse and eliminates most of the pathogenic microorganisms present in the bioaerosol, through the denaturation of their membrane.

At the same time, this reaction makes it an ideal purifier of environmental contaminants, dust and particles, especially suitable for increasing hygiene in high-risk environments.

Its active technology is based on the natural Open-Air Factor reaction, which occurs routinely in the upper layers of the atmosphere. This technology is completely harmless to animals and their caregivers. PUROH has managed to replicate this natural reaction in a compact and low-consumption device.

In this link, you can find the technical specifications and all the clinical studies with the different types of pathogens, as well as a more detailed description of the technology at the microbiological level and its safety. The technology already has the Medical Device certificate from the FDA and the EU. Contact us, and we will be happy to provide you with more details about the product and how it can benefit your operation.

Sources: Biological risks: Prevention in slaughterhouses. Author: Asunción Mirón Hernández – Degree in Biology. Technical Notes on Prevention. National Center for New Technologies. National Institute of Safety and Hygiene at Work.

Related Products: Puroh Cyclohnic, K7 OH