Hygiene Status of Over-the-Row Blueberry Machine Harvesters Cleaned and Sanitized Using Various Approaches
Contamination of fresh blueberries via contact with an equipment surface is an important food hygiene/safety issue. In this study, four and six over-the-row blueberry machine harvesters in Georgia or Oregon were each sampled twice on two different harvest days in the 2022 harvest season. Nine sites...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Horticulturae |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/1/103 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832588337485971456 |
|---|---|
| author | Yaxi Dai Renee Holland Sarah Doane Weiqiang Yang Jinru Chen |
| author_facet | Yaxi Dai Renee Holland Sarah Doane Weiqiang Yang Jinru Chen |
| author_sort | Yaxi Dai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Contamination of fresh blueberries via contact with an equipment surface is an important food hygiene/safety issue. In this study, four and six over-the-row blueberry machine harvesters in Georgia or Oregon were each sampled twice on two different harvest days in the 2022 harvest season. Nine sites on the top loaders (<i>n</i> = 8) and seven sites on the bottom loaders (<i>n</i> = 2) were sampled before and after cleaning/sanitation. Populations of total aerobes (TA), total yeasts and molds (YM), total coliforms (TC), and the presence of fecal coliforms (FC) and enterococci (EC) in collected samples were determined. Data collected was analyzed using the split-plot ANOVA of SAS. On average, cleaned/sanitized surfaces had about one log lower (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05) TA and YM counts than the uncleaned surfaces, while no difference in TC counts was observed. The vertical and horizontal conveyors and fruit-catch plates had significantly higher TA, YM, and TC counts than other sampled sites. FC and EC were detected in 7.8% or 14.1% of the Georgia samples and 5.6% or 10.2% of the Oregon samples. The type and concentration of sanitizers and frequency and approach of cleaning/sanitation treatments all impacted the hygiene status of berry-contact surfaces of machine harvesters. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-410ac02606cb479481354b9fe80b6052 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2311-7524 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Horticulturae |
| spelling | doaj-art-410ac02606cb479481354b9fe80b60522025-01-24T13:34:47ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242025-01-0111110310.3390/horticulturae11010103Hygiene Status of Over-the-Row Blueberry Machine Harvesters Cleaned and Sanitized Using Various ApproachesYaxi Dai0Renee Holland1Sarah Doane2Weiqiang Yang3Jinru Chen4Department of Food Science and Technology, The University of Georgia, Griffin, GA 30223, USAHolland Consulting & Research, LLC, Alma, GA 31510, USADepartment of Agriculture and North Willamette Research and Extension Center, Oregon State University, Aurora, OR 97002, USADepartment of Agriculture and North Willamette Research and Extension Center, Oregon State University, Aurora, OR 97002, USADepartment of Food Science and Technology, The University of Georgia, Griffin, GA 30223, USAContamination of fresh blueberries via contact with an equipment surface is an important food hygiene/safety issue. In this study, four and six over-the-row blueberry machine harvesters in Georgia or Oregon were each sampled twice on two different harvest days in the 2022 harvest season. Nine sites on the top loaders (<i>n</i> = 8) and seven sites on the bottom loaders (<i>n</i> = 2) were sampled before and after cleaning/sanitation. Populations of total aerobes (TA), total yeasts and molds (YM), total coliforms (TC), and the presence of fecal coliforms (FC) and enterococci (EC) in collected samples were determined. Data collected was analyzed using the split-plot ANOVA of SAS. On average, cleaned/sanitized surfaces had about one log lower (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05) TA and YM counts than the uncleaned surfaces, while no difference in TC counts was observed. The vertical and horizontal conveyors and fruit-catch plates had significantly higher TA, YM, and TC counts than other sampled sites. FC and EC were detected in 7.8% or 14.1% of the Georgia samples and 5.6% or 10.2% of the Oregon samples. The type and concentration of sanitizers and frequency and approach of cleaning/sanitation treatments all impacted the hygiene status of berry-contact surfaces of machine harvesters.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/1/103fresh blueberrymachine harvesterfood contact surfacefood hygienefood safetypathogen indicators |
| spellingShingle | Yaxi Dai Renee Holland Sarah Doane Weiqiang Yang Jinru Chen Hygiene Status of Over-the-Row Blueberry Machine Harvesters Cleaned and Sanitized Using Various Approaches Horticulturae fresh blueberry machine harvester food contact surface food hygiene food safety pathogen indicators |
| title | Hygiene Status of Over-the-Row Blueberry Machine Harvesters Cleaned and Sanitized Using Various Approaches |
| title_full | Hygiene Status of Over-the-Row Blueberry Machine Harvesters Cleaned and Sanitized Using Various Approaches |
| title_fullStr | Hygiene Status of Over-the-Row Blueberry Machine Harvesters Cleaned and Sanitized Using Various Approaches |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hygiene Status of Over-the-Row Blueberry Machine Harvesters Cleaned and Sanitized Using Various Approaches |
| title_short | Hygiene Status of Over-the-Row Blueberry Machine Harvesters Cleaned and Sanitized Using Various Approaches |
| title_sort | hygiene status of over the row blueberry machine harvesters cleaned and sanitized using various approaches |
| topic | fresh blueberry machine harvester food contact surface food hygiene food safety pathogen indicators |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/1/103 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yaxidai hygienestatusofovertherowblueberrymachineharvesterscleanedandsanitizedusingvariousapproaches AT reneeholland hygienestatusofovertherowblueberrymachineharvesterscleanedandsanitizedusingvariousapproaches AT sarahdoane hygienestatusofovertherowblueberrymachineharvesterscleanedandsanitizedusingvariousapproaches AT weiqiangyang hygienestatusofovertherowblueberrymachineharvesterscleanedandsanitizedusingvariousapproaches AT jinruchen hygienestatusofovertherowblueberrymachineharvesterscleanedandsanitizedusingvariousapproaches |