Benefits and Risks of the Use of Chlorine containing Disinfectants in Food Production and Food Processing
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The Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) expert meeting on the use of chlorine-containing disinfectants1 in food production and food processing was held on 27–30 May 2008 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America. The meeting was supported by NSF International, WHO Collaborating Centre for Food and Water Safety and Indoor Environment. The meeting was organized to provide scientific advice in response to a request made by the C odex Alimentarius Commission based on proposed terms of reference prepared by the thirty-seventh session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants and the thirty-seventh session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene on the safety and benefits of the use of “active chlorine” in food processing. The primary intended benefits of disinfection processes are the reduction of microbial foodborne disease risk and the reduction of spoilage by control of contamination by pathogenic and no n-pathogenic microorganisms. Control can be through direct treatment of foods and through management of cross-contamination from processing water and food contact surfaces. Disinfection treatment may lead to residues of disinfectants and disinfection by-products, which need to be considered in a risk–benefit assessment. The control of spoilage bacteria by disinfection, which increases the shelf life and stability of foods, was not considered by the expert meeting, as it has no direct impact on h ealth risks.