Cleaning & Sanitizing Harvest Aids

04/21/25 • 25 min

Produce Bites

This episode features Phil Tocco, an MSU Extension Produce Safety Educator, and Michelle Danyluk, a professor and extension specialist in microbiological food safety at the University of Florida. Michelle shares what her and her colleagues have learned from their research on cleaning and sanitizing leafy greens harvesters, and offers practical advice for how growers can keep their equipment clean.

This episode features Phil Tocco, an MSU Extension Produce Safety Educator, and Michelle Danyluk, a professor and extension specialist in microbiological food safety at the University of Florida. Michelle shares what her and her colleagues have learned from their research on cleaning and sanitizing leafy greens harvesters, and offers practical advice for how growers can keep their equipment clean.

Previous Episode

The Benefits and Risks to Washing Your Produce

"Bacteria cannot walk, but they can swim." In this episode, we dive into the science behind washing produce and its impact on both produce safety and product quality. Dr. Teresa Bergholz, an associate professor of food science at Michigan State University, shares her research on washing leafy greens and the factors that can influence microbial risk. Joining the conversation are Phil Tocco, a produce safety educator with MSU Extension, and Landen Tetil, a Produce Safety Technician, who offer insights into best practices for washing produce on the farm.

Next Episode

Managing Postharvest Water in a Packhouse

This episode features Phil Tocco, an MSU Extension Educator for on-farm produce safety, and Claire Murphy, an assistant professor and extension specialist in produce safety at Washington State University. Claire discusses their research on the safety of postharvest water, including how they’re sampling for sanitizer levels and the presence of bacteria. Together, Phil and Claire share best practices that growers and packhouses can consider implementing based on preliminary findings, particularly around monitoring and maintaining postharvest water quality.