Fog Tunnel Treatment: A Food Safety Step for Produce Packers
Fresh fruit and vegetable packers have always been somewhat limited in how they can sanitize their product after their product has been harvested and before it is packed. The most common method of post harvest sanitation is to immerse the product in a dump tank or flume, or run the product over a series of rollers and have spray bars overhead. The dump tank and spray bars are injected with food-grade sanitizers to kill any lingering pathogens or spores that are on the product. Though the above method of sanitation is a generally acceptable post harvest handling practice that is endorsed by many food safety auditing agencies, it is not without some faults. One of the primary challenges of any post harvest technology that involves the immersion of the product in a sanitizer, is that most sanitizers still require a potable water rinse, after the product has been sanitized. This rinse can reduce the time the sanitizer has to do its work of killing and preventing the growth of spores and p...