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“I've been doing this for 10 years now, and I've seen a 180-degree change in people who want to be proactive with food safety or quality assurance measures,” says Jimmy Lee, KES director of sales and marketing. “Recently, we've had many cold storage business owners asking for help, because they know airborne cross-contamination can inflict irreversible damage to their perishables. It's an insurance policy.” kesscience.com; airocide.com

Easy to Install

Terry Campbell, refrigeration sales manager for Central Washington Refrigeration, Yakima, WA, tried a variety of different sanitation units for his customers' fresh produce processing plants. He eventually settled on the Purfresh Cold Storage system, manufactured by Purfresh, Fremont, CA (Purfresh.com). A patented, science-based solution generates ozone from oxygen in the air on-site and delivers defined, low-dose specific concentrations of gaseous ozone into the atmosphere, for use as a powerful but safe disinfectant in controlled atmosphere (CA) and regular atmosphere (RA) storage rooms. “It's very easy to install,” Campbell says. “You run communication cable and line in such a way that it ties in to the defrost cycle. Purification is distributed across the room.”

CWR plans to expand its Purfresh installations in 2010. “This is a natural for our industry. I'm sold on it,” Campbell says. He also suggests contractors will have better success selling sanitation units if they focus on larger chain stores.

“The smaller stores aren't going to spend the money on this. It has to be a corporate-wide decision,” he says.

Proactive Opportunity

Refrigeration contractors might want to take a look at air and surface sanitation as a valuable add-on service, before they're forced into it. Lee, for one, believes air sanitation standards will eventually fall under closer government control.

“It's coming. It might not be tomorrow, but air sanitation will be a mandate very soon,” Lee predicts. “Right now, it's an optional choice. I think contractors will have to come on board, and eventually make it available. It's another great way to differentiate themselves from competitors, and help their customers enhance not only food safety initiatives, but better control traceability and sustainability programs.”

Sanitation Basics Include HVAC

“A three-word definition for food sanitation is ‘protection from contamination,’” says Dr. Ronald Schmidt, professor and food science extension specialist at the University of Florida, Gainesville.

Schmidt says that for the most complete sanitation in food storage areas, the surrounding HVAC systems must be designed and installed to prevent build-up of heat, steam, condensation, or dust, and to remove contaminated air. Schmidt, who is right on target with his understanding of HVAC principles, adds that positive air pressure is required in microbiologically sensitive areas, and HVAC systems should be designed to be cleanable. Air intakes should be located to prevent introducing contaminated air. A sanitary operations facility has a preventive maintenance program which monitors equipment maintenance procedures.

“Such a program specifies necessary servicing intervals, replacement parts, and more,” Schmidt advises.

Visit edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FS076 for Dr. Schmidt's “Basic Elements of a Sanitation Program for Food Processing and Food Handling.”