European experts have investigated the microbiological quality of water used in processing fresh and frozen fruit, vegetables and herbs.
The quality of the water and its industrial use is a concern because poor quality can introduce harmful microorganisms in food products. There is also the issue of climate change and the expected reduction in the availability of water.
Experts analyzed the microbial and physical-chemical quality of water that is used during the after harvest to process fruit, vegetables and herbs in industrial environments. They have also prepared a series of process water management plans and an online tool to help industry improve such management systems. A strategy for water management must have validation, operational monitoring and verification.
Scientists followed the concept of ‘Fit-for-Purph Water’, developed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO). This approach requires to consider various aspects, such as the assessment of the water source and potential related dangers, disinfection options and end use of the food product.
Recommendations of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) are shared in Three scientific opinions on fresh-lage fruit, vegetables and herbs; On freshly cut products and on frozen products.
EFSA has also developed an online tool to predict the transfer and accumulation of bacteria in process water in industrial scenarios. It works with pre -set or adjusted data, using a mathematical model to simulate scenarios and predict the impact of different strategies for water venal infection and supplement. The app considers parameters such as volume and supplement of water, chlorine disinfecting concentration, the total product volume that is washed and total counts of bacteria.
Maintaining water quality
As part of the work, scientists analyzed practices followed by European food companies to maintain the water quality used in handling and processing activities after the hearts.
Pollution of process water during handling and processing operations after harshness is influenced by various factors, including the type of fruit, vegetables and herbs that are processed, duration of the operation and transfer of micro -organisms of the product to the water and vice versa.
Data was obtained from 61 companies. The impact of no water treatment was evaluated in 17 scenarios, while in 44 the challenges of maintaining the microbiological quality with water disinfectants were investigated, including chlorine, peroxyasiic acid and hydrogen peroxide. Hygienic practices include technical maintenance of infrastructure, training of personnel and cooling of water process water.
The findings emphasized that when no treatment was used with water disinfection treatment, Listeria monocytogenes was detected in some scenarios of the freshly cut and frozen fruit, vegetable and herb sectors, as well as salmonella, pathogenic E. coli and norovirus in freshly cut and frozen products. Insufficient security systems resulted in an excessively high or insufficient disinfecting concentrations in the water, which, if too low, do not sufficiently reduce the microbial load.
A Literature Review Revealed A Tendency to Focus on Leafy Greens, Use Chlorine -Based Disinfectants, And Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) As the Primary Physico -Chemical Parameter, With Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) And Turbide and Turbide From water quality.
Data from the industry indicated that the fresh weight of fruit, vegetable and herb sector comprises variable operational cycles that last between 8 and 900 hours, large product volumes (eg more than 6000 tons) and processing water at 2.8 degrees C to 25 degrees C (37 to 77 degrees F).
The freshly cut fruit, vegetable and herb sector has process water at cooled temperature, operational cycles between 1 and 15 hours and product volumes between 700 and 3000 kilograms. The related frozen sector has operational cycles between 8 and 120 hours, variable product volumes and no control of the temperature of process water.
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