New eco-friendly product kills Salmonella, E.coli and, Campylobacter

The Empowered Water process, which has just been awarded five-year patent protection, from the United States Patent Office, uses a combination of electrolysis cell technology, salt and electricity. It changes the ionic structure of water to create non-toxic, oxidized antimicrobial solutions and reduced antioxidant cleaning solutions, said the company.

Electrolyzed water, marketed as Empowered Water Primacide Solutions, is created by combining salt and water with an electrical charge. The process separates the positive and negative ions of brine-water, creating two forms of water, one acidic and one alkaline.

Green alternative​

Joe Stapley, the company’s vice president of Business Development & Investor Relations
told FoodProductionDaily.com: “What the technology itself brings to food and beverage processors of any kind is truly a green alternative for most of its cleaning and disinfecting applications. EAU’s non-toxic disinfectant is up to 80 times more effective than traditionally used chlorine. And the cleaner created in the process is every bit as effective as most caustic cleaners​.”

The company claims it is able to meet any volume demands for large food processors since it has broken the volume constraints typically found in competitors’ electrolyzed water technology.

Poultry has been a particular focus of the development work. The electrolyzed alkaline water is used to clean the chicken, followed by a rinse of the electrolyzed acidic water usually in the inside/outside bird wash to kill any remaining food-borne pathogens.

“In poultry processing with a combination of the electrolyzed acidic solutions and electrolyzed alkaline, EAU can help a poultry processing operation meet the new USDA standards for Category 1. We believe that we can show a savings in chemical costs as well as overall water usage. The processor is going to have a cleaner product while creating a safer work environment​,” said Stapley.

The process is currently working in a major poultry processing facility in Northern Georgia as part of the pathogen intervention system processing over 350,000 birds per day.

Dairy Industry​

The company is currently seeking approval for Empowered Water as an alternative for use as an Online Reprocessing (OLR) agent and is exploring dairy industry applications.

Wade Bradley, the company’s chief executive officer said: "Empowered Water can be part of the solution to many of the pathogen intervention challenges a poultry processor may face. As processing plants strive to obtain the highest USDA rating, Category 1, EAU's non-toxic solutions can help exceed the new USDA demands while decreasing the use of harsh chemicals​."

EAU is looking for a strategic partner to help develop the technology.