A one-year study in Fresno, California, to evaluate and improve sanitizing treatments in stonefruit packinghouses, has been made possible by a $100,000 grant from the Center for Produce Safety. Two grants were awarded to Fresno State’s Food Science and Nutrition Department for produce safety research and consumer education, the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology announced.
Dr. Steven Pao, department chair, and Dr. Erin Dormedy will oversee the study which will begin this month and will be conducted in partnership with the California Fresh Fruit Association and area stonefruit producers.
Pao said, “The Central Valley is the leading producer for stonefruit nationally, and our research facilities and faculty can study and help implement new sanitizing technologies. Utilizing our faculty, students, and food science laboratory to develop novel food safety methods reflects our college’s emphasis to be a leader in agricultural research.”
The research aims to determine natural microbial levels on contact surfaces in the sorting and handling process. It will also evaluate potential pathogens and their growth on surfaces in different temperature and humidity conditions, and the effectiveness of cleaning treatments.
Pathogens will be measured on sorting and sizing machinery to develop new methods for sanitizing the equipment on-site during the production process. Carriers and equipment are currently sanitized using time-consuming methods that require disassembly and cleaning in other locations.
Study results will be reported through industry meetings, workshops, publications, and technical journals.
The grant was awarded after Pao and Dormedy conducted a preliminary study in 2015 of surface microbial levels of peaches taken from packing lines in area stonefruit packinghouses.
They have also worked on a related study that used hot water immersion to decontaminate surface Salmonella on mangoes and was funded by Citrofrut S.A. de C.V. (Monterrey, Mexico). The study is nearly complete, and results will be presented at the Institute of Food Technologists in July in Chicago.
Source: growingproduce.com
