Subacute study of rats fed ground beef treated with aqueous chlorine: hematologic and clinical pathology

Aqueous chlorine is effective in reducing surface spoilage bacterial counts on carcasses of slaughter animals and is presently being used for washing beef, pork, lamb, and poultry in some plants under an interim authorization. At present, at least three GRAS affirmation petitions have been submitted by industry groups for the continued use of chlorinated water on carcasses of slaughter animals. A dearth of information exists describing the hematological and clinical pathology associated with the consumption of such treated meat by mammals. Our research evaluated the response of rats to diets containing ground beef which had been treated with aqueous chlorine. Results of the hematologic evaluations demonstrated almost no effects associated with the feeding of rats with chlorine-treated meat for 92 d. There was a slight prolongation of the prothrombin time in all male groups fed the chlorine-treated meat. This prolongation was most pronounced in the 600 ppm group and was significant (p less than 0.05) when compared with the control males. In the absence of any other hematologic evidence, it is not possible to attribute the prolonged prothrombin time to the administration of the test compound. Prothrombin times of females did not differ significantly. The clinical chemistry and urine analysis yielded results wherein the values for the control and test rats are consistent with reported values for rats under standard laboratory conditions. On the basis of these hematologic and clinical data, there were no adverse effects on male or female rats fed ground beef treated with up to 600 ppm aqueous chlorine.