Developments in spray washing of meat and produce

Recently, much attention has been focused on the safety of fruits and vegetables. Produce washing systems are necessary for removing chemicals and debris but are sometimes a risky step in the processing line. In fact they have been identified as a point of significant cross contamination of produce. For this reason there is much interest in developing safer, more effective produce washing systems. One potential method is spray washing like that used in carcass decontamination. Borrowing from the research performed by the meat industry, the produce industry can develop effective spray-washing systems for fruits and vegetables. Several equipment, process, and product variables are pertinent to the optimization of such a system. Specifically, temperature, pressure, and nozzle type and orientation must be tested on a variety of fruits and vegetables to increase its applicability and effectiveness. Engineering information on the spray washing of carcasses and produce will be reviewed.