Apple Packing Bath
Keeping produce safe for human consumption is a tricky business in a world governed by strict regulations, and where occasional failures in food safety have resulted in disease or even death, such as the problems with an e coli outbreak in the US this year that sickened 22 people and resulted in one death.
Typically, fruits and vegetables are washed either with water alone or with water infused with chlorine, but both these approaches create their own problems. In some cases, water can fail to remove the pathogen, or even cause it to spread to more of the batch.
Adding chlorine can help, but creates its own issues, as it can create poisoning hazards for workers, and when used at higher concentrations can also leave residue on the fruit. In Europe, for example, the problem is taken so seriously that the EU has developed new regulations limiting the Maximum Residue Levels on fruit.
Fortunately, the North American AgTech company FruitTek and their supplier BioSafe Systems has come up with a solution that not only solves these problems, but also allows packing houses to automatically monitor their sanitizing wash.
Owner Brady Vander Woude says the system developed by BioSafe Systems uses Peroxyacetic Acid, better known as PAA, in its SaniDate FD Plus and SaniDate 12.0 products.
“SaniDate PAA products are far more stable, don't off-gas, they don’t have pH issues and better maintain their efficacy under organic loads,” says Vander Woude. “ They also do not require a rinse, since their active ingredients evaporate, leaving no residue behind.”
SaniDate PAA products are also easier on equipment, and there are no issues with runoff, unlike chlorine, which is considered highly toxic and potentially dangerous to humans and animals.
In addition to offering PAA-based sanitizing products, FruitTek is bringing to the market another innovative BioSafe solution known as SaniDate MDS Plus. The MDS stands for Monitoring and Dosing System, which is exactly what it sounds like, says Vander Woude.
“SaniDate MDS is an electronic monitoring/injection system that utilizes probe technology to automatically measure the PPM (parts per million) of the solution in the wash water in real time, and then micro-pumps concentrated PAA from a drum and injects just the right amount of PAA to maintain the required efficacy to stop the spread of bacteria and fungal organisms,” says Vander Woude. “This same system records the PPM of the PAA levels into a data log that can be downloaded into a usable report that can be later submitted to food safety auditors.”
FruitTek’s mission is to lower the possibility of infected food to as close to zero as possible, while at the same time providing the packers with a system that automatically demonstrates for inspectors and regulators how the fruit’s wash water has been sanitized to meet requirements in Canada and abroad.
Vander Woude considers the topic so vital to human safety and the ability of fruit growers to export their products abroad that the company is partnering on trials in British Columbia and Washington State to test the efficacy and fruit quality affects of SaniDate PAA products on fresh cherries, and then further testing on other types of tree fruits.
The goal of the first trial is to test SaniDate PAA products as an alternative treatment to chlorine in cherry line hydro cooler waters and water circuits, Vander Woude explains.
“The more proactive fruit and vegetable packers will inject a sanitizer additive into their dump waters as a broad spectrum kill step to control the spread of bacterial and fungal pathogens,” Vander Woude says. “Traditionally this additive has been chlorine-based, which has its own set of issues, including off-gassing and maintaining efficacy due to pH issues and organic loads.
“In the opinion of safety experts here in North America and around the world, PAA is a much safer and more effective product,” he adds. “We’re also trying to create more awareness out there about the problem, and let people know there is a better, cost-effective solution that can greatly improve food safety.”
For more information on FruitTek and the SaniDate MDS system, go to fruittek.com, or contact Brady Vander Woude via brady@FruitTek.com