Surface decontamination of cooked sausage and processed meat and poultry products

The present invention relates to the food processing arts. It finds particular application in conjunction with the post-pasteurization, surface microbial decontamination of hot dogs, sausages, and other processed meat and poultry products prior to packaging, and will be described with particular reference thereto. It should be appreciated, however, that the invention is also applicable to the treatment of raw meat and poultry and other food products subject to microbial contamination. Cooked food products, such as cooked meats, and poultry, are treated with a decontaminant solution to remove surface microorganism contamination. The decontaminant solution contains peracetic acid at a concentration of from about 100 to 4000 ppm and has broad spectrum activity against a variety of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms, such as