Chlorine wash validation

Dear all,

We deal with fresh produce in our company. we have washing vegetables with chlorine at 80ppm as CCP. however i noticed this concentration is not giving 1 log reduction and we increased the concentration to 200ppm. 1 log reduction is achieved, however the chlorate and perchlorate tests conducted on washed vegetables is 0.983mg/kg which is 1500 times the MRL limit for pesticides.

Did anyone have this issue?. how do I resolve this now?. I don't want to rinse with fresh water again after chlorine wash as it will be an overkill for operations. any ideas to overcome this?

Dear all,

 

We deal with fresh produce in our company. we have washing vegetables with chlorine at 80ppm as CCP. however i noticed this concentration is not giving 1 log reduction and we increased the concentration to 200ppm. 1 log reduction is achieved, however the chlorate and perchlorate tests conducted on washed vegetables is 0.983mg/kg which is 1500 times the MRL limit for pesticides.

 

Did anyone have this issue?. how do I resolve this now?. I don't want to rinse with fresh water again after chlorine wash as it will be an overkill for operations. any ideas to overcome this?

Hi Sam,

Not my area but alternatives appear to exist, eg -

https://www.postharv...,noticia:79885/

Hi Sam,

 

Not my area but alternatives appear to exist, eg -

 

https://www.postharv...,noticia:79885/

Thanks Charles.

we are thinking of installing that system and are in talks.

we need to get away on the chlorine levels until we install that system.

kind regards

Vikram

That was a large leap from 80 to 200 ppm, any reason you didn't jump incrementally?

According to this article, a fresh water rinse is required after sanitizing with chlorine.

https://extension.ok...operations.html

That was a large leap from 80 to 200 ppm, any reason you didn't jump incrementally?

we did incremental samples and they are very sporadic. this is where they had consistent results.

Hi Samurai Sam,

I believe the regulations state that you do need to follow chlorine treatment with a potable water rinse (subpart © below):

https://www.accessda....cfm?fr=173.315

Since we're suggesting alternative technologies, Chlorine Dioxide is an alternative to Chlorine that you may find attractive. It's much more stable in solution compared to normal chlorine, and rather effective. I'm implemented it at my facility for a batch-washing process, keep in mind it also needs to be followed by a rinse. There are generators that can dose directly into wash flumes, tablets to make small batches of concentrate, or even distributors that will sell concentrate in barrels.

https://www.dioxide....lorine-dioxide/

https://www.accessda....cfm?fr=173.300