RGF Environmental Group has significantly upgraded its patented PHI Treatment System for meat processors with the introduction of a PHI Treatment Tunnel-PLUS system, which uniquely provides direct, 360-degree surface application on all exposed meat surfaces resulting in 99.9% surface microbial reduction.

Designed for Valley Meats, a high-quality meat processor located in Coal Valley, Illinois, the 18 foot PHI Treatment Tunnel-PLUS installation is being hailed by industry analysts as a breakthrough in the meat industry¹s continuing challenge to employ safe, sanitized systems to treat food products prior to sale and consumption.

“This modular tunnel is the most effective, state-of-the-art system that I have reviewed and for the first time processors will be able to fully treat beef, which has tough angular surfaces and ridges,” said Dr. James Marsden, a national leading scientist in the field of food safety for the past 30 years.  “The PHI process does not affect the taste or appearance of the product, and the tunnel is unique in its ability to totally treat the product surface.”

Dr. Marsden, a professor of food safety and security at Kansas State University and an adviser for the North American Meat Processors Association, said the all-natural photohydroionization (PHI) is an advanced oxidation technology that acts as an additional strategic intervention for trimmings and sub-primals. The PHI technology allows for the anti-microbial treatment of meat products without leaving chemical residues.

The PHI is also available as an air treatment system and is effective at controlling airborne pathogens and for reducing bacteria and mold on food contact surfaces and throughout food plant environments.

RGF, the U.S. patent holder for PHI-Cell Technology, has over the last 20 years installed various surface sanitation tunnels used for meat, dairy and fruit and vegetable processors.  Considered a breakthrough in food processing technology, the stainless steel PHI tunnels are retrofitted depending on type of products being treated.  The food tunnel can provide final non-chemical, anti-microbial treatment, and protect products from human error or other cross contamination events which may have occurred earlier during the process.

The new modular treatment tunnel is mounted around a self-contained, variable speed conveyor, which is designed for the weight load, size and shape of the product volume to be treated.  This dry environment process incorporates high intensity targeted ultra-violet light and photohydroionization (PHI) to create a powerful sanitizing environment for the entire food surface. There are no changes in color, or sensory properties.  For details on photohydroionization for food processors, please go to the new RGF website at www.rgffoodsanitation.com.

“This is an advantage when treating ground meats since most meat contamination is on the surface, and the grinding operation mixes any surface contamination throughout the mixture,” said Dr. Marsden.

The PHI technology has been validated for control of Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia Coli O157:H7 and Staphylococcus aureus, as well as mold, yeast and viruses.

For more information on RGF products, please go to www.rgf.com or call 561-848-1826.