Guidelines for Submitting Requests For Acetic and Citric Acid Sprays
to the CFIA For
Meat Products For Export From the United States to Canada
Please ensure that all the points noted below are addressed in your
submission to avoid needless requests to modify the submission
The use of 1.5 - 2.5% acetic acid or citric citric acid washes on red meat carcasses is permitted as a processing aid under the following conditions:
Acetic or citric acid solutions may be applied where it is accepted practice to apply water to product such as before, after or during the final carcass rinse. Pre-evisceration rinse systems consisting of a potable water rinse, and a second rinse with an organic acid. The first rinse is applied as a low pressure water rinse to remove incidental foreign material. The second rinse, consisting of an aqueous solution of 1.5 - 2.5 percent organic acid, may be applied as a mist, fog or small droplet rinse.
The chemical involved must be of food-grade quality.
The treatment must be followed by appropriate measures to ensure that any residues of the acids in question in or on the meat, resulting from the treatment are negligible. In practice this would involve a final rinse with potable water.
The treatment be considered part of an acceptable quality control program in conjunction with normal good manufacturing practices.
A documented description of the process and controls to monitor the concentration of the acid spray solution and other necessary operating parameters be in place and available to CFIA inspection staff. This documentation should at least describe:
how equipment and methods used assure that fumes from the acid do not create a health hazard;
type and concentration of acid used;
formula for preparing acid solution;
site and rate of application including solution flow rate and pressure;
temperature of acid solution at point of contact;
how methods used assure that no residual acid is left on the surface of the carcass;