Fresh-cut product sanitation and wash water disinfection: Problems and solutions Maria I. Gil, Maria V. Selma, Francisco López-Gálvez, Ana Allende ⁎ Research Group on Quality, Safety and Bioactivity of Plant Foods, CEBAS-CSIC, P.O. Box 164, Espinardo, Murcia, 30100, Spain abstract article info Available online xxxx Keywords: Fruits and vegetables Microbial growth Minimally processed Sanitizers Processing aids Disinfecting agents Chlorine Process water Decontamination It is well known that fresh-cut processors usually rely on wash water sanitizers to reduce microbial counts in order to maintain quality and extend shelf-life of the end product. Water is a useful tool for reducing potential contamination but it can also transfer pathogenic microorganisms. Washing with sanitizers is important in fresh-cut produce hygiene, particularly removing soil and debris, but especially in water disinfection to avoid cross-contamination between clean and contaminated product. Most of the sanitizing solutions induce higher microbial reduction after washing when compared to water washing, but after storage, epiphytic microorganisms grow rapidly, reaching similar levels. In fact, despite the general idea that sanitizers are used to reduce the microbial population on the produce, their main effect is maintaining the microbial quality of the water. The use of potable water instead of water containing chemical disinfection agents for washing fresh-cut vegetables is being advocated in some European countries. However, the problems of using an inadequate sanitizer or even none are considered in this manuscript. The need for a standardized approach to evaluate and compare the efficiency of sanitizing agents is also presented. Most new alternative techniques accentuate the problems with chlorine suggesting that the industry should move away from this traditional disinfection agent. However, the use of chlorine based sanitizers are presented as belonging to the most effective and efficient sanitizers when adequate doses are used. In this review improvements in water disinfection and sanitation strategies, including a shower pre-washing step and a final rinse of the produce, are suggested. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Fresh-cut fruits and vegetables are no longer considered low risk in terms of food safety (Bhagwat, 2006; FSA, 2007). Recently, a number of outbreaks have been traced to fresh-cut fruits and vegetables that were processed under less than sanitary conditions. These outbreaks show that the quality of the water used for washing and chilling the produce after harvest is critical (CDC, 2009). It is well known that disinfection is one of the most critical processing steps in fresh-cut vegetable production, affecting the quality, safety and shelf-life of the end product. Washing is designed to remove dirt, pesticide residues and microorganisms responsible for quality loss, as well as to pre-cool cut produce and remove cell exudates that may support microbial growth (Zagory, 1999). The fresh-cut industry has used chlorine as one of the most effective sanitizers to assure the safety of their product. However, there is a trend in eliminating chlorine from the disinfection process because of the concerns about its efficacy on the produce and about the environmental and health risks associated with the formation of carcinogenic halogenated disinfection by- products (Ölmez and Kretzschmar, 2009). Most of the current inves- tigations have been focused on the search for alternative sanitizers based on assuring the quality and safety of the produce. However, the majority of the experiments are carried out in unrealistic conditions and the results obtained cannot be compared because of the differing experimental conditions. This review examines the need for a global approach to decontamination strategies in industry to identify solu- tions for the safety of produce. Additionally, the arguments for or against chlorine derived products are presented considering the sani- tation of both the produce and the process water. 2. Fresh-cut product sanitation In the last few years an important number of papers has been published concerning the efficacy of washing and sanitizing treat- ments in reducing microbial populations on fresh-cut produce. Some of the results are useless because of the extreme doses and excessive washing times used, the use of an unauthorized substance, e.g. (Zhang et al., 2009). A clear and well-documented comparison of different sanitation methods was compiled in the Food Safety Guidelines for the Fresh-cut Produce Industry (IFPA, 2001) and throughout the Forum on Washing and Decontamination of Fresh Produce (CCFRA, 2002–2008). The efficiency of numerous chemical and physical methods for assuring the microbiological safety of fresh-cut produce has been covered in several reviews (Parish et al., 2003; Sapers, 2003, Allende et al., 2006; Rico et al., 2007; Gόmez-Lόpez et al., 2009; Ölmez and Kretzschmar, 2009). International Journal of Food Microbiology xxx (2009) xxx–xxx ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 968 396 275; fax: +34 968 396 213. E-mail address: aallende@cebas.csic.es (A. Allende). FOOD-04779; No of Pages 9 0168-1605/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2009.05.021 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Food Microbiology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijfoodmicro ARTICLE IN PRESS Please cite this article as: Gil, M.I., et al., Fresh-cut product sanitation and wash water disinfection: Problems and solutions, International Journal of Food Microbiology (2009), doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2009.05.021