With its focus on prevention of foodborne illnesses,
the Food Safety Modernization Act's Produce Safety Rule contains language
that tells the growers must inspect, maintain and clean all food contact
surfaces of the equipment and tools used in covered activities as frequently
and reasonably necessary to protect against contamination of covered produce.
Sanitation is only required
under specific farm conditions and may not be always necessary.
An example of when it is required includes
when produce items with bird feces
comes in contact with food contact surface or when a worker
who touches a food contact surface is sent home with contagious disease.
Key pieces of equipment that come into contact with produce are harvest grapes.
Best practices suggest that you designate crates for harvesting only.
Designate other crates for storage and processing
within packaging sheds, coolers and other indoor facilities.
Keep these crates out of fields.
Having a minimum of two kinds of crates can help reduce the risk
of using harvest crates with produce undergoing cleaning and processing.
Harvest crates must be cleaned and sanitized as needed.
Plastic crates are easier to clean.
To clean crates, you can use a rag, brush,
or any other implement that can be cleaned and sanitized between uses.
Remember, the tools need to be cleaned and sanitized prior to use.
Place the crate in the wash container of clean water
with no detectable E.coli in mild soap solution, following manufacturer's
instructions and scrub off all debris.
Place
the crate in the rinse container of clean water and thoroughly rinse it.
Make sure the soap is completely removed.
Let's review the definition of cleaning and sanitizing.
Cleaning is a process of removing organic matter or debris and other types of soil
from the surface such as containers, utensils, equipment and crates.
Sanitizing is the process of reducing the number of microorganisms
that are on a properly cleaned surface to a safe level.
The last step may be sanitation,
but this is only when appropriate and necessary.
Growers must inspect, maintain and clean,
and when necessary and appropriate, sanitize all food contact
surfaces of equipment and tools used in covered activities as frequently
as reasonably necessary to protect against contamination of covered produce.
In subsection L.
of 112.13 of the code federal regulations.
Place the crate in the sanitize container with a sanitizing solution
and wait for proper contact time, following manufacturer's instructions.
If you are an organic producer, consult
with your certifying agency before you buy a sanitizer.
It is critical that you monitor the concentration of sanitizer in the water.
This can be done with single use test strips or other monitoring tools.
Manage the water as necessary to maintain its adequate safety and quality.
Keep in mind that the amount of dirt is suspended.
Organic matter in the water will require you to adjust frequency.
Remove the crate and let air dry.
Do not place clean and sanitized plastic crates on the ground.
It is important they be placed on cleaned pallets or other clean surfaces.
Remember to document your cleaning procedures.
Keep the records in an accessible location, date, name, and signature
of the person who perform the task should be included in the document.
If your farm has wooden crates, you can use them for harvesting produce.
It is difficult to clean and sanitize wooden crates.
If you must use wooded crates consider using a food grade liner.
Damaged
crates, both plastic and wood cannot be cleaned and sanitized.
Well, because the cracks can serve as a location
where dirt and bacteria biofilms can accumulate.
Remember to document your cleaning procedures.
Keep their records in an accessible location.
Wash water must be discarded in a safe way.
Make sure you check with your local jurisdiction
on how to dispose of water that was used to wash and sanitize crates.
Follow these steps
and you can prevent contamination moving from harvest crates to produce.
Remember that clean produce reduces the risk of foodborne illnesses
and maintains the freshness of your produce.