Controlling microbial population in livestock and poultry industry using electrolyzed water as an emerging technology for ensuring food safety

Abstract

Poultry and livestock contribute a significant amount of energy and protein to the human diet. However, a main concern is the undesirable microbial population from the poultry and livestock system that may cause diseases in both humans and animals. Electrolyzed water has shown broad-spectrum sanitization efficiency and gained considerable popularity. This review aims to provide an overview of the use of electrolyzed water under different environment conditions for sanitization in livestock and poultry systems. Electrolyzed water serves as an excellent antimicrobial and anti-biofilm agent against various pathogenic, disease-producing, and undesirable microbes in every step of the livestock and poultry sectors from farm to fork. The synergistic effects of the oxidation reduction potential, pH, and chlorine concentration of electrolyzed water enable its potential and prompt mechanism for controlling and eliminating various microorganisms. Compared to other conventional disinfectants, electrolyzed water has been shown to be more efficient and effective. As an environmentally-friendly sanitizer, electrolyzed water has been applied in livestock and poultry production and processing sectors such as animal drinking water, feed decontamination, house sanitation, transportation system, slaughterhouse sanitation, meat-processing industry decontamination, sanitization of milk-processing industries, hatchery and eggshell decontamination. This review is aimed to discuss the microbial control in livestock and poultry industry by applying electrolyzed water as a novel sanitizer.