The larger of the two expenditures, $4.2 million, involves the installation of a hide-on-carcass wash that closely resembles a carwash for cattle in which the hides of animals are scrubbed with spinning bristles and a mild bromine solution that kills bacteria at the beginning of the harvesting process. This process helps better assure removal of dirt and debris while washing the animal's exterior, thereby minimizing the potential for contamination from bacteria that potentially pose a health risk to humans.
Used in concert with numerous food safety measures already in place that are aimed at reducing bacteria such as E. coli O157: H7, the hide-on-carcass wash provides Cargill's Fresno facility with another tool to reduce, and potentially eliminate, these randomly and naturally occurring bacteria.