Microbiological hazards associated with the use of water in the post-harvest handling and processing operations of fresh and frozen fruits, vegetables and herbs (ffFVH). Part 4 (fresh-cut FVH process water management plan)

Abstract

Water used in post-harvest handling and processing operations is an important risk factor for microbiological cross-contamination of fruits, vegetables and herbs (FVH). Industrial data indicated that the fresh-cut FVH sector is characterised by process water at cooled temperature, operational cycles between 1 and 15 h, and product volumes between 700 and 3000 kg. Intervention strategies were based on water disinfection treatments mostly using chlorine-based disinfectants. Water replenishment was not observed within studied industries. The industrial data, which included 19 scenarios were used to develop a guidance for a water management plan (WMP) for the fresh-cut FVH sector. A WMP aims to maintain the fit-for-purpose microbiological quality of the process water and consists of: (a) identification of microbial hazards and hazardous events linked to process water; (b) establishment of the relationship between microbiological and physico-chemical parameters; (c) description of preventive measures; (d) description of intervention measures, including their validation, operational monitoring and verification; and (e) record keeping and trend analysis. A predictive model was used to simulate water management outcomes, highlighting the need for water disinfection treatments to maintain the microbiological quality of the process water and the added value of water replenishment. Relying solely on water replenishment (at realistic feasible rates) does not avoid microbial accumulation in the water. Operational monitoring of the physico-chemical parameters ensures that the disinfection systems are operating effectively. Verification includes microbiological analysis of the process water linked to the operational monitoring outcomes of physico-chemical parameters. Although Escherichia coli and Listeria spp. could be indicators for assessing water quality, food business operators should set up and validate a tailored WMP to identify physico-chemical parameters, as well as microbial indicators and their threshold levels, as performance standards for maintaining the fit-for-purpose microbiological quality of the process water during post-harvest handling and processing operations.