Using Pasteurization to Help Reduce Wash Water Contamination Risk

摘要

As growers tighten up their food safety procedures, one area requiring attention is the purity of farm water used to wash fruits and vegetables. Often, ditches, reservoirs and lakes are contaminated and, when used as a wash water source, may be the source of potentially deadly bacteria on produce moving to market. Benny Yamamoto, who grows vine-ripe tomatoes and onions on Benny Farms in the Makawao area of Maui, Hawaii, is experimenting with a solar water pasteurizer to help reduce such risks. The equipment, supplied by Will Hartzell of Safe Water Systems, Honolulu, Hawaii, is part of a 30,000 dollar research project funded by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Development Corporation.