 When purchasing fresh produce and other ingredients, management should establish specifications for each of the items that are to be received. The specifications may be that the products meet management standards in the areas of quality, temperature, size, and microbiological standards. Specifications may also state that producers should follow good agricultural and management practices for the growing, harvesting, and packing of fresh produce. To ensure that the quality of freshly harvested produce is not compromised, it is recommended that produce be transported from the field to the processing, packing, or cooling facility as soon as practical after harvest. Equipment utilized to transport field harvested produce, either directly to the processing plant or to the cooling facility, should be inspected daily in order to minimize contaminants such as mud, oil, and debris. All transportation equipment carrying freshly harvested produce should be cleaned and sanitized frequently. At the time of receipt, processors should visually examine the incoming product for rot, decay, and presence of excessive organic material, foreign objects, and damaged containers. Processors should also identify the grower, field, and lot, and coordinate incoming lot numbers with their lot numbering systems. In case a traceback is required, processors will need to determine which incoming ingredients are components of which finished product. It's recommended that processors document the following information for traceback purposes at the time of receipt of an ingredient. Type of product, raw ingredient and product packaging, labeling, lot number, and pallet tag, quantity, size, and weight. There are many ways a firm can document incoming product receipt and tie it to production for better traceback. Maintaining documents in case of a traceback will really minimize the public health and economic impact of a recall. Record keeping practices should also be applied to other items such as croutons, cheese, or meats that may be added to fresh-cut products and do packaging materials. Quality control review of all ingredients and packaging materials is the first step in producing the safest fresh-cut products at the facility. Workers involved in the loading and unloading of fresh produce during transport should practice good personal hygiene and sanitation, as discussed in the previous section. To minimize potential microbial hazards when receiving produce, the buildings, fixtures, and other physical facilities and surrounding grounds should be maintained in good sanitary condition. Pathogenic microorganisms may be found on floors, in drains of packing facilities, and on the surfaces of sorting, grading, and packing equipment. Without use of good sanitary practices, surfaces that come into contact with fresh produce could be a source of microbial contamination. Therefore, good sanitation practices should be used throughout the facility and staging areas to control contamination throughout the receiving, cooling, processing, and packing operations. A pest control program should also be implemented throughout the entire facility to eliminate pests such as insects, birds, reptiles, rodents, and other mammals that may harbor or be a vector for a variety of pathogens. The pest control program should include frequent monitoring of affected and treated areas to accurately assess the effectiveness of the program. This is discussed further later in the video. Packaging containers and other packing materials that are not used right away should be stored in a way that protects them from contamination by pests, dirt, and water condensing from overhead equipment and structures to ensure proper rotation of inventory all pallets should be dated upon receipt. As various methods are employed for cooling fresh produce, temperature of the product may be recorded before and after the cooling process. When hydro-cooling and hydro-vacuuming, the tube in which the fresh produce is placed should be cleaned and inspected daily. The water in the reservoir should be changed daily or more frequently if necessary, and where applicable it should be sanitized to reduce potential microbial contamination. When using ice, the water source for the ice should meet potable water standards. The ice reservoir should be drained weekly, and the entire icer should be drained, cleaned, and sanitized on a regular schedule. Another cooling procedure is the dump tank where produce is dumped into a cold water bath. Because of the temperature difference between the cold water in the dump tank and the warmer produce, this procedure may result in the introduction of microorganisms into the flesh or interior of some fruits and vegetables. To minimize this effect, there are several critical factors that should be considered, including the temperature of the water compared to the temperature of the produce, force of the impact with which the water contacts the produce, and the depth of submersion. After cooling, products should be held in cold storage or cold rooms until used for processing or shipping. Typically, most vegetable and fruit items should be maintained at 33 to 41 degrees Fahrenheit. All cold rooms should be maintained in a clean condition. A master sanitation plan should require regular cleaning and sanitizing of refrigerated storage areas, warehouse, equipment, and shipping docks. All refrigeration units should be inspected and kept in good operating condition. Maintaining proper temperature will help ensure both the quality and safety of fresh produce. Similar commodities should be stored together in order to prevent cross-contamination. Also, an appropriate detailed inventory system should be established in order to ensure first-in, first-out use and shipment of product. Depending upon the specific operation and individual commodity needs, produce items may be delivered to a packing facility in cartons, bins, trays, sleds, totes, or gondolas. After receipt at a packing facility, produce may be washed before packing in containers or consumer units for marketing. The wash water that contacts fresh produce prior to packing should not be a source of contamination. It should be safe and adequate as outlined in the good manufacturing practices. This is discussed later in the Processing and Packaging section. All equipment should be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition. All remnants of produce on belts, tables, lines, and conveyors may serve as a source for microbial contamination and should be removed in the equipment cleaned. Cleaning and sanitizing are discussed later in this video. When knives and cutting equipment, boots, gloves, smocks, and aprons are utilized in the processing, they should be cleaned on a regular basis or replaced if they become damaged or cannot be kept in sanitary condition. When preparing finished product for shipment to various customers, processors are encouraged to examine all transportation vehicles before loading freight carriers or refrigerator trailers with product. Because transportation vehicles can be a potential source of microbial contamination, refrigerated trailers should be inspected for general condition, obvious contaminants, and odors before loading. Only trailers with appropriate temperatures and no obvious signs of contamination should be loaded. Drivers should be advised to properly pre-cool, clean, sanitize, and repair trailers prior to loading. All fresh produce should be carefully loaded to minimize physical damage to the produce and reduce the potential for contamination during transport. Produce should also be loaded to allow proper air circulation. For extended transit periods, it's recommended that a temperature chart recorder be installed in refrigerated trailers.