Fresh Cut
Hygienic Washing
The hygienic washing1 of minimally processed fruits and vegetables (Fresh Cut) is performed with the CITROCIDE® FRESH-CUT SYSTEM which acts as a "firewall", with washing being a Critical Control Point (CCP) to avoid cross-contamination2, improve food safety 3 and reduce surface contamination that reduces the shelf life of the cut fruit.
Citrosol has developed the CITROCIDE® SYSTEM, for IV Range washing, which automatically monitors and controls the washing and disinfection process. It controls the concentration of CITROCIDE® in the wash water, maintaining the optimum dosage at all times, which allows maximum efficiency to be achieved at all times (Figure 1).
Currently this system is an excellent solution for hygienic washing of peppers, tomatoes, avocados/palta, mangoes, sweet potatoes, citrus fruits and garlic cloves. We drastically reduce microbiological contamination of the whole product, thus also eliminating pulp contamination in the cutting process.
Disinfection with Citrocide® PLUS is a very reliable alternative to chlorine, as it ensures food safety for consumers, reduces DBPs problems (disinfection by-products harmful to humans such as chlorates, perchlorates and trihalomethanes -THMs-, among others) and avoids cross-contamination risks associated with the use of chlorine.
Its use is authorized by AECOSAN as a technological adjuvant in the washing of citrus fruits, peppers, tomatoes, peeled garlic, avocados/palta, sweet potatoes, persimmons and mangoes, and it is also certified by CAAE as an input for organic agriculture.
In addition, the use of the Citrocide® System significantly reduces water and energy consumption in washing, making the process more sustainable by reducing the water footprint and carbon footprint of the fresh-cut industry.
The CITROCIDE® SYSTEM acts as a barrier that prevents cross-contamination by keeping the wash water in hygienic conditions, while disinfecting the surface of the washer (Figure 2).
Figura 2: contaminación superficial en dos lavadoras industriales de pimientos, una con Agua (barras azules) y otra con Sistema CITROCIDE® (barras naranjas) después de 4 horas de lavado de pimientos. (ufc/cm2=unidades formadoras de colonias por cm2; MyL= Mohos y Levaduras; AMT= Aerobios Mesófilos Totales; EB= Enterobacterias; <LOD= por debajo del límite de detección).
STUDIES CARRIED OUT BY LABCOLOR, COEXPHAL, ALMERÍA, December 2013)
The Citrocide® System is a comprehensive system that ensures food safety of the final product with hygienic washing that effectively reduces surface contamination of F&H (Figure 5). We drastically reduce microbiological contamination of the whole product, thereby also eliminating pulp contamination that can occur in the cutting process.
Figure 5: Colony Forming Units for Total Mesophilic Microorganisms (TMA) (a), Total Coliforms (b)
and Fungi (c) per gram of avocado/palta (cfu/g) after washing in a chlorine drencher (Drencher) and
after washing with a CITROCIDE® System (S.CITROCIDE); n.a. * = not detected.
Studies conducted by CNTA-Peru, August 2016.
Cleaning and disinfection
Good daily maintenance, cleaning and disinfection of the elements of the processing lines and machinery is essential, especially of the cold rooms, production and storage premises (walls, ceilings and floors, including drainage grids and drains) and, after use, of the elements linked to transport: crates, pallets, containers and trailers.
The establishment and application of a correct Cleaning and Disinfection (C&D) program in the industry leads to avoid the risk of cross-contamination by microorganisms pathogenic to human health.
In this sense, the cleaning and disinfection of cold rooms is crucial because they can be a reservoir of pathogenic microorganisms.
