Washing Fruits and Vegetables

Subject: Washing Fruits and Vegetables

What will be done and who will do it?

New employees must:

• Review this procedure.

• Be trained by a team leader.

• Sign the training checklist.

All employees must:

• Wash hands using the proper procedure before beginning to wash any fruits and vegetables (refer to SOP - Handwashing).

• Wash, rinse, sanitize, and air-dry all food-contact surfaces, equipment, and utensils that will be in contact with produce, such as tables, carts, cutting boards, knives, and sinks (refer to SOP - Cleaning and Sanitizing Food Contact Surfaces).

• Prepare sanitized water solution appropriate to the produce items being washed (refer to SOP - Hazardous Materials and SOP - Produce Sanitizer Solution Preparation)

• Adhere to the following procedure for washing fruits and vegetables:

  • Wearing gloves wash fresh produce in cold water (refer to SOP - Monitoring Produce Wash Water Turbidity and SOP - Monitoring Produce Wash Water Temperature)

  • Remove any damaged, decaying, or bruised areas.

  • Scrub the surface of firm fruits or vegetables, according to the product SOP, using a clean and sanitized brush designated for this purpose.

  • Transfer washed produce to a second sink basin of sanitized water (Red Zone only), avoiding any potential cross-contamination that may occur from splashing wash water into sanitized water solution .

  • Rinse washed and sanitized produce in clean cold water in the third sink basin.

  • Monitor water for turbidity, sanitizer PPM levels, sanitizer pH levels, and temperature (refer to SOP - Monitoring Produce Wash Water Turbidity, SOP - Monitoring Produce Wash Water Temperature, SOP - Monitoring Produce Sanitizer Solution pH, and SOP - Monitoring Produce Sanitizer Solution Concentration).

Who will make sure it's done and how?

• Team leaders are expected to continually model appropriate produce washing practices for employees.

• Team leaders will visually monitor that fruits and vegetables are being properly washed during all hours of operation.

How should problems be fixed?

• Team leaders must immediately re-train and counsel employees who improperly or inadequately wash fresh produce.

• Remove unwashed fruits and vegetables from RTE production areas and wash immediately before processing.

What records will be kept?

• Completed training checklist.

Created(Date): 1/4/16

By: Randall Davis, Food Hub & Food Safety Coordinator

Last Revised: 8/27/2024

By: Jeff Sobolewski, Operations Coordinator