Ongoing research funded by the Center for Produce Safety (CPS) aims to fill knowledge gaps about the efficacy of sanitizers and wash techniques used on peaches. Although packinghouses regularly run peaches over a spray bar brush bed to apply sanitizer via water, little data is available about sanitizer efficacy, contact times, or treatment durations.
The project is led by Meijun Zhu, Ph.D. from Washington State University, who saw the need to investigate wash systems after a 2020 foodborne illness outbreak linked to peaches contaminated by Salmonella, which was possibly introduced to the fruit by nearby animal agriculture. Dr. Zhu is combining laboratory studies and packinghouse trials to produce science-based data on sanitation efficacy for the industry to use to develop preventive control programs.