Several years ago, leaders in the meat-processing industry joined a food safety consortium exploring the possibilities of electrostatics as applied in antimicrobial intervention.

With the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) declaration of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) as adulterants in non-intact raw beef products and intact raw beef products intended for non-intact use (FSIS, 2012), adding antimicrobial interventions has become standard procedure during beef harvest and further processing.

Consumers increasingly demand antibiotic-free meat and poultry. So how do processors prevent contamination during the pre-harvest stage without using this common antimicrobial?

Consumer interest in natural and clean label is resulting in the growth of natural preservatives and environmentally friendly technologies.

Antimicrobial interventions have been instrumental in improving food safety in the meat and poultry industry.