 Fresh cut fruit or vegetable processing involves trimming, peeling, and or cutting produce into product that is bagged or prepackaged to offer consumers highly nutritious and convenient fresh food. Though they are altered from their original form by processing, these foods remain in a fresh state ready to eat or cook. Unlike many food products, fresh cut produce is not subjected to thermal or heat treatments such as pasteurization or sterilization during processing. Prevention of or removal of existing contamination during processing is the only means of assuring production of a safe and wholesome product. Washing and trimming reduces but may not eliminate contamination. The goal of a food safety program is to prevent harmful microorganisms, physical contaminants, and chemicals from being introduced into produce. Contamination during fresh cut processing can occur in numerous ways. Some potential sources of contamination include people, employees, equipment, processed water, industrial chemicals associated with food processing, for example, sanitizers, pesticides and lubricants, and packaging. Employees come in contact with fresh cut produce many times during processing and should be trained in safe food handling. This is because humans are often the vectors involved in the spread of disease like the common cold or even foodborne illness. These may transfer foodborne illness-causing microorganisms to fresh produce at various points in processing operations, such as receiving raw ingredients, raw material warehousing and cold storage, unloading raw ingredients from field containers, preparing product for machine cutting, peeling or trimming before machine cutting, mixing or blending produce medleys, placing fresh cut products into their primary container, bags or rigid containers, weighing, boxing, and warehousing finished products. The written training program and the employee hygiene and health practices covered in Section 2 of this video are important components of any food safety program as it relates to personnel. Good manufacturing practices, GMPs, emphasize the need for adequate employee training in proper food handling, hand washing, and food protection. Strict adherence to GMPs is important and employees should have the knowledge and understanding to carry out their responsibilities properly. Training should cover the dangers of insanitary practices and poor personal cleanliness and how these practices can lead to consumer and employee illnesses. Adequate training of employees is everyone's responsibility and should be assigned to competent supervisory personnel. GMPs and good employee hygiene practices should be followed each step of the way by everyone including forklift operators, management and visitors to the plant to reduce the chances of spreading foodborne illnesses. Fresh cut preparation and cutting equipment are all potential sources of contamination from microbial, chemical or physical hazards. Both visual and analytical evaluation of all processing equipment should be performed before processing begins to ensure that proper cleaning, sanitation and maintenance have been performed. Traditional evaluation methods such as environmental swabs or contact plates are often used. The test methods, such as the use of a biolumina before the start of processing, allow one to evaluate sanitation efficiency in real time. These real time measures also allow employees to take corrective action before processing begins. Some firms even provide financial incentives for sanitation crews meeting goals set by managers. All equipment for preparing, cutting and bagging fresh cut produce has food contact surfaces. A food contact surface is any surface that comes in direct contact with food as well as any surface from which dripage or condensation may contact food. An example of an item not typically thought of as a food contact surface is a drip or condensation pan on refrigeration units. Food contact surfaces should be kept clean and sanitary to prevent them from becoming a potential source of contamination. All food contact surfaces should be constructed so as to be durable, easily cleanable, non-absorbent and non-toxic. This includes such items as knives, conveyors, belts and chutes, product totes, gloves, tools such as shovels or rakes, cutting boards, tables, spinner baskets, and packing scales. All equipment or food contact surfaces should be constructed of suitable non-corrosive materials, constructed with smooth sanitary welds to prevent the buildup of food materials, and easy to disassemble for cleaning and sanitizing. Refer to Section 3, Facility Design and Product Flow, in this video for important detailed recommendations about facility design. Processing equipment can also be a potential source of chemical and physical hazards. Chemical hazards from processing equipment may include such things as industrial lubricants from sprockets, bearings and gearboxes, or hydraulic fluid from equipment, overhead hydraulic lines, or gearboxes. Physical hazards from processing equipment may include such things as nuts, bolts and washers, and other small or large machinery parts or metal fragments which may come loose from equipment. Of course, it is always best to prevent contamination of foods during processing, but one tool is available to help detect physical contamination of food, a metal detector. Metal detectors can determine if small pieces of metal are present within packaged products. This method is not foolproof, however, as food processing equipment is typically constructed of stainless steel, and metal detectors are less sensitive to low iron content metals. Metal detectors are recommended to help screen packaged food products for gross metallic contamination, such as broken knife blades or machinery nuts and bolts. Once a metal detector is in place, it should be tested frequently to assure functionality and be set up to eject packages from the normal product flow if a problem is detected. Water is used extensively in almost all aspects of fresh cut produce processing. Water can be used for such things as cooling hole or cut produce before packaging, aiding and removing peels during abrasive peeling operations, washing whole produce to remove surface dirt before cutting, washing produce to remove juices from cut surfaces, conveying produce, rinsing cutting equipment and knives, and sanitation. Wherever water is used during processing of fresh cut produce, it should be from a safe and sanitary source. This is commonly referred to as being potable. The water used in a fresh cut processing plant should be documented and verified as being safe and adequate for its intended use, and should meet all local, state, and federal standards for potable water. Municipal water sources can provide safety information and documentation for their water quality. If fresh cut processors have their own water source, such as a deep water well, it should meet the same requirements. In addition, they should document the safety of their water by routinely performing water analyses. Cold water that is commonly used to rinse and cool produce is often recirculated because of the high energy costs of chilling water. Whenever water recirculation or reuse occurs, whether it is for hydro cooling whole produce or washing and cooling cut produce, precaution should be taken. Rinse water disinfectant levels should be adequate to prevent the potential for cross-contamination, be a contamination of the rinse water system. Numerous chemical and physical methods are available to keep water intended for use with fresh fruits and vegetables disinfected, such as use of sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite, chlorine dioxide, chlorine gas, peroxyacetic acid, and ultraviolet light. Special safety precautions are required for certain chemicals, so fresh cut processors should review and follow the label directions. Processors can consult an agricultural extension agent, chemical suppliers, or food safety consultants for help in deciding what chemicals and physical methods to use. Whatever system is chosen to keep processing water disinfected, it should include the monitoring and maintenance of proper wash water disinfectant levels in the SOPs. Specific steps may include document the functionality of the system, routinely monitor to assure that adequate disinfectant levels are present whenever processing is occurring, and use only food grade disinfectants that are approved for use on fresh cut products. Monitoring the disinfectant levels within the wash water and or cooling system can be accomplished by various means, such as test strips, test kits, or oxidation reduction potential meters, which can be automated to produce real-time continuous monitoring, as well as control of disinfectant levels. Be aware that the effectiveness of some disinfectants can be affected by such factors as pH and temperature of the water, and the amount of organic matter present in the water. The addition of food grade processing aids, such as acids to adjust water pH, and mechanical screens to remove organic particulate matter may be necessary to achieve optimal disinfectant performance. Sodium hypochlorite solutions, for example, have an alkaline pH 11 to 13 and will only function effectively if the pH is lowered to a range of 6.5 to 7.5. Chlorine gas, if used as a wash water disinfectant, will lower wash water pH. Calcium hypochlorite pellets dissolve slowly, especially in cold water. Undissolved granules may damage produce as well as fail to maintain the desired chlorination level. For this reason, granules should be dissolved in warm water before being added to cold water. Calcium hypochlorite also raises the pH of wash water above 7.5 if not adjusted. Chlorine dioxide is less affected by pH and has greater oxidizing power than hypochlorite, but it is more difficult to handle, as it should be generated on site. Chlorine reacts with organic matter, such as soil and vegetable matter. This chemical reaction produces combined chlorine, which is not effective as a disinfectant. Changing the water frequently or filtering organic matter out of recirculated water is recommended to achieve good sanitation. Pre-washing soiled produce, along with monitoring disinfectant levels, will prolong the useful life of chlorinated cooling water. Ozone, acetic acid or peroxyacetic acid may also be used as a wash water disinfectant and research is underway to find the best combinations of treatments. Any water contacting fresh cut produce should be potable, especially when it is recirculated. This is so important that redundant methods may be warranted to assure that equipment is functioning properly and corrective actions have been taken if a system failure does occur. If a human pathogen contaminates a recirculating water system, each piece of produce that subsequently passes through the system will be contaminated. For many produce items that are going to be processed, a pre-wash step is often included in the firm's SOPs. Pre-washing whole produce before cutting helps remove field dirt from items such as melons, carrots and radishes that have had direct contact with soil. Pre-washing some produce is very effective at removing surface dirt, which may harbor human pathogens. It may not be applicable for produce such as cabbage or lettuce where outer leaves and cores are removed before cutting. Visibly decayed or rotten produce should be discarded and not used in fresh cut products. Lastly, water is used extensively to clean and sanitize equipment. Because fresh cut processing moves at such a quick pace, equipment cleaning and sanitation often occurs in the midst of a processing shift, particularly for equipment that may be used to process various products. If equipment is cleaned during a processing shift, cleaning and sanitation should be done in a restricted area to prevent contamination of already processed produce by cleaning chemicals, sanitizers or water aerosols. Processors should be aware of and prevent cross-contamination by aerosolized water mists. Food processing requires the use of many industrial chemicals which when used and stored properly pose little risk. However, if industrial chemicals such as cleaners, sanitizers, pesticides and lubricants are used or stored improperly, they may contaminate food products. Therefore, processors should only use food grade chemicals to ensure the highest purity and minimize the dangers associated with inadvertent exposure to the product. Processors should store hazardous chemicals in a locked storage space with access by authorized personnel only, and processors should not leave hazardous chemicals such as cleaning or sanitizing agents in the processing area. Packaging materials should be manufactured from food grade materials, be stored away from any industrial chemicals and other possible contaminants, and not be used to store hazardous chemicals to avoid cross-contamination. Finished products should be labeled or coded in such a way as to allow for the identification of a specific product lot or batch based on raw ingredient supply or production date. Although good labeling and or lot identification will not prevent the possibility of a foodborne illness outbreak, it may limit the liability if specific batches or lots can be traced to buyers and the product can be recalled. In summary, safe, fresh cut produce processing requires prevention of contamination by microbial, physical or chemical hazards during all stages of processing. Controlling the potential sources of contamination during processing will significantly reduce the probability of a foodborne illness being associated with fresh cut products that are produced and marketed.