pear trees 2

Preventing cross contamination and loss of quality of pears through disinfection of the sorting water

Post-Harvest Belgium
To avoid bruising and damage to pears during sorting and packing, the fruit is often transported through water. At the end of the sorting line the pears are additionally rinsed to remove any remaining dirt.
pear trees

The challenge

Pathogens present on the fruit will accumulate rapidly in the sorting and transport water resulting in possible cross contamination of the fruit. It is therefore of crucial importance for food safety reasons as well as for the quality of the fruit, that the microbiological contamination of the sorting and transport water is adequately monitored and if necessary reduced through disinfection.

Pears

Our solution

A test was conducted by Roam Technology to assure that the addition of Huwa-San TR-50 to water that comes into contact with the pears, does not result in loss of quality of the fruit.

Pears of the Conference variety were showered with water either with Huwa-San TR-50 or without Huwa-San TR-50 (control treatment). The concentrations applied were approximately 1000 ppm and 2000 ppm.

Adding Huwa-San TR-50 to the wash water did not result in damaging of the fruit. Besides visual damage to the fruit, firmness of the pears and loss of pears were also monitored. The decrease in firmness of pears washed with Huwa-San TR-50 disinfected water was smaller compared  to pears washed with untreated water. This suggests that treating the sorting water to prevent microbiological cross contamination via the water, results in pears maintaining a higher firmness over time.

Afterwards, pears were sorted and the amount of pears that did not meet the quality standard of class Extra, were removed from the batch. 4 boxes of pears, resulting in a total of 1600 kg, were evaluated: the total weight of the pears that did not meet the standard of class Extra was almost a factor 3 lower when the pears were washed with disinfected water (2000 ppm Huwa-San TR-50) compared to washing with untreated water. This suggests that treatment of the water with Huwa-San TR-50, in this study resulted in more pears meeting high quality standards.

The results

Huwa-San TR-50 can be used for disinfecting sorting water of fruit. No visual damage to pears was observed when using a concentration up to 2000 ppm Huwa-San TR-50. Furthermore a higher firmness of the pears was observed and more pears met the quality standard of class Extra.

  • No residue
  • Less water consumption
  • Augmentation of end-product quality
  • Less spoilage
  • Higher sale rate
Post-Harvest
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Used products

Huwa-San TR-50 is a registered biocide. Use biocides safely. Before use, read the label and product information.

Biocides are governed by stringent regulatory frameworks, the particulars of which may differ across nations. In this instance, the application adheres entirely to the regulations of the respective country but may not necessarily comply with those of others. It is advisable to consult our in-house experts for guidance on particular applications.

Post-Harvest

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