Fruit and Vegetable Disinfection

Especially for fruits and vegetables that will be used without cooking, it is necessary to ensure their cleaning and disinfection to remove harmful microorganisms originating from soil, chemical residues such as pesticides, and external contaminants. Fruit and vegetable disinfection is generally performed in washing sinks with at least 2 compartments and consists of three stages; pre-washing, disinfection, rinsing. Washing sinks should be separated according to these process steps and labeled accordingly. If disinfection is provided with ozone, a final rinse is not required.

Chemical Disinfection

For this purpose, chlorine-based suitable fruit and vegetable disinfectants are generally diluted at a certain ratio and used. It is important that the disinfection chemical is highly diluted in the correct proportion. The chlorine amount in the water used for fruit and vegetable disinfection should be between 80-100 ppm. To achieve this, ideally automatic pumps can be used, or the chemical can be added manually at a certain scale. In both cases, the amount of chemical used should be controlled at certain intervals to protect human health and to prevent deterioration of product quality.

Pre-Washing

The fruits and vegetables to be cleaned are freed from coarse dirt, dust, and other physical contaminants that may come from outside by washing with water. In pre-washing, it is appropriate to separate the root parts and outer leaves of greens and preferably to untie the green bundles.

Disinfection

This is important to kill harmful organisms such as microbes and parasite eggs on fruits and vegetables that have been freed from physical dirt. Before the process, the presence of the appropriate chemical and the operation of the pump should be checked. The fruits and vegetables to be washed are left in disinfectant water for 5-15 minutes depending on the type and then taken to the rinsing sink.

Rinsing

Products coming out of disinfection should be washed in clean water for at least 10-15 minutes to remove the disinfection chemical.

Ozone Disinfection

Ozone is preferred because it provides effective disinfection, does not carry the risk of chemical contamination, removes pesticide residues, and being a volatile gas, does not require rinsing. However, to understand whether disinfection has been achieved and whether the ozone is supplied in the correct amount, devices should be used according to the user manual, and regular maintenance and measurements should be performed by authorized companies.

Before each use, it should be checked whether the device is working correctly, whether air bubbles come out of the overflow, and if ozone is supplied to the water, whether there is an ozone smell. The most important point to consider in ozone disinfection is that since ozone is volatile, disinfection cannot be achieved by waiting 5-10 minutes in the environment with ozone or by reusing used ozonated water.

Pre-Washing

The fruits and vegetables to be cleaned are freed from coarse dirt, dust, and other physical contaminants that may come from outside by washing with water. In pre-washing, it is appropriate to separate the root parts and outer leaves of greens and preferably to untie the green bundles.

Disinfection

This is important to kill harmful organisms such as microbes and parasite eggs on fruits and vegetables that have been freed from physical dirt. Before the process, it should be checked whether ozone gas is coming from the device. The fruits and vegetables to be washed are left in disinfectant water for 5-15 minutes depending on the type. During ozone disinfection, the device must be operating. After the process, it is beneficial to let the products rest for 5-10 minutes to allow air exposure.

Ozone Test

  • A small amount of food coloring is mixed into a glass of water,
  • Ozone is supplied to the colored water,
  • It is checked at certain intervals,
  • If ozone is present, a lightening of the color is observed.

The ozone smell indicates the presence of ozone, but there is no correlation between the intensity of the smell and the amount of ozone.

Points to Consider

  • Greens such as lettuce and arugula should be pre-washed after removing the roots, and chopped after disinfection and rinsing.
  • Attention should be paid to untying bundles to wash the inner parts of greens as well.
  • For vegetables that will be processed by completely peeling the skins (such as potatoes, onions), the disinfection stage may not be necessary, but the skins must be thoroughly washed before peeling.
  • To prevent fruits and vegetables from losing freshness, only the necessary amount of material should be disinfected.

The performed disinfection process should be recorded in the Fruit and Vegetable Disinfection Form in Annex-9 (Form no: KN-03). Detailed information about keeping the fruit and vegetable disinfection record can be found following the attached form.