Desenvolvimento de sistema ultravioleta para desinfecção de pulmão suíno com potencial aplicação em pet foods

Abstract

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is an emerging technology that acts in the disinfection of food by causing damage to the DNA of microorganisms, preventing their replication. In this context, the study was divided into two chapters for greater understanding. The first chapter offers an integrative literature review with bibliometric analysis applying of UV light to decontaminate meat and meat products. With the research, it was observed that the development of studies on the subject is recent, evolving in recent years. There is an interest in the inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms of importance in the meat industry, such as Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella spp. In addition, photosensitizers associated with UV technology have gained prominence and presented promising results. The second chapter focused on developing and evaluating of a UV radiation system with and without combination with a photosensitizer (curcumin) for disinfection of pig lungs intended to produce pet food. The disinfection chamber was structured in a BOD chamber. Initially, 18 kg of the porcine lung were collected from a slaughterhouse, sent to the laboratory, ground and stored in an ultra-freezer. The viscera were treated with UV-A radiation (with and without photosensitizer - curcumin) and UV-C for times of 1, 5, 10, and 15 minutes and thicknesses of 2 mm and 4 mm. Finally, microbiological and physicochemical analyses were performed for all groups. The results indicated that the disinfection chamber was efficient in applying UV light to the porcine lung, with significant reductions (p < 0.05) in the counts of Staphylococcus spp., total coliforms, and thermotolerant coliforms, with the UV-C treatment being particularly effective. The UV-C group was also able to inactivate Salmonella spp. in the longest time studied (15 minutes) in all cases, while the UV-A + Curcumin 80 μM group inactivated this microorganism at a thickness of 2 mm and a time of 15 minutes in 50% of the samples. Physicochemical parameters, such as coloration and lipid oxidation, contributed to the loss of viscera redness after UV treatments, changes that need to be carefully monitored to ensure that microbiological reductions are achieved without compromising the sensory quality and acceptability of the product. After treatment with UV radiation, porcine lung became a raw material with higher microbiological quality. However, changes in color and lipid oxidation indicate the need for adjustments in the operating parameters, reducing the UV dose and/or exposure time, or associating this technology with other treatments or photosensitizers.