Citrus packing packhouse:  easy setup of citrus packing packhouse

REDUCE SAFETY RISKS IN CITRUS PACKHOUSE

Citrus packhouse setup checklist.

CHOOSING A CITRUS PACKHOUSE MANAGEMENT TOOL LIKE PRODUCEPAK
Choose a smart citrus packhouse management tool like Producepak.  A low cost solution that provides comprehensive management for citrus packhouse traceability, food safety, inventory, packing, sales & shipping, audits and recall. 

Citrus Packhouse Preparation:

HOW TO DESIGN YOUR CITRUS PACKHOUSE
• An enclosed packing area is preferred, but open-walled structures are acceptable if measures are taken to keep birds and rodents out.
• Keep packing area clean, uncluttered, and well lit.
• Have a regular cleaning schedule for all areas, including equipment, walls, floors, and overhead structures. Assign a specific person to this task and regularly check records to make sure it gets done. Develop standard operating procedures that designate how and when the packhouse is cleaned and what sanitizer is used.
• Inspect interior walls and floors for signs of water entry or holes. Fill cracks with grout or other appropriate filler materials.
• Water should drain away.
• Lights should be shatterproof or covered.
• Look for overhead places where birds can perch. Prevent perching with methods such as covering rafters, installing bird spikes, or installing steep-sided pyramids on beams.
• Areas outside of the packing buildings should be cleared of tall grass, weeds, and idle equipment that can provide hiding places for rodents.
• Allow sufficient space between equipment and interior walls to make inspecting for pests easier.
• Walk the perimeter of your packing building. Check for dam-age to the roof and cracks or holes in exterior walls that could allow pests to enter. Repair these areas before the season begins.
• Trees provide cool shade, but they are perching sites for birds. Consider ways to reduce the risk from these birds.
• Keep pests out. Mice need only a quarter-inch hole to get into a building, and rats need only a half inch. As much as is practically possible, refit doors or use rubber stripping to seal up cracks and holes.

SETTING UP A CITRUS PACKHOUSE

IMPLMENT TOOLS TO REDUCE CITRUS WASTE
The Producepak citrus packhouse management tool helps to minimize citrus packing waste, and ensures every or is packed accurately, and shipped with precision. 

CITRUS PACKHOUSE FOOD SAFETY
Making your citrus packhouse safe for packing:
• Replace wood food-contact surfaces with plastic or stainless steel, or cover them with plastic sheeting that can be cleaned at the end of the day. Food-safe paint can also be applied to seal wood surfaces, but you must maintain it and make sure it does not flake off.
• Include equipment, tables, and other food-contact surfaces in your cleaning schedule.
• Once you have packed boxes with produce, continue to keep them off the floor. Boxes are often stacked and restacked several times during shipping. Boxes stacked directly on a packhouse floor can inadvertently contaminate other boxes if they are restacked on top of cleaned, packed boxes. Bacteria or pathogens could move with contaminated boxes onto the boxes below.

DESIGNING CITRUS PACKHOUSE COLD STORAGE AREAS
Most microorganisms grow slowly or not at all under refrigerated conditions (i.e., less than 41°F). But one pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes, can grow faster than others at low temperatures. Make sure your cold storage areas are kept clean and sanitary to minimize postharvest and food safety risks.
• Make sure your cold storage areas are running well and kept clean.
• Monitor temperatures.
• Keep your coolers clean! Before the season starts, clean and sanitize walls and floors. Work with a chemical supply company to select appropriate cleaners.
• Smooth, washable wall paneling is recommended for coolers. Look for products with names such as dairy panels, sanitary wall board, or fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) board. Many home product box stores have this material available and other suppliers can be found online.
• Keep walls and floors as dry as possible.
• Condensation from cooling units should drain directly into the drain and not onto the floor. Don’t ignore those drain pans. They provide an excellent place for Listeria to thrive. Clean and sanitize them before the season starts. Add a slow release disinfectant to the pan to keep microbial growth at a minimum and prevent drainage lines from clogging and overflowing onto boxes of produce.
Shipping and Transportation
The last stage in the packhouse process is loading boxed produce into trucks. What do we need to think about here? Regardless of whether the trucks to be loaded are yours or another company’s, make sure you continue to consider food safety risks and take measures to prevent contamination and microbial growth.
• Before loading refrigerated trucks, inspect them for cleanli-ness and record the air temperature.
• There should be no signs of the previous load left in the truck.
• Never use trucks that were previously used to transport ani-mals or other contaminated materials.
• Avoid damaging the product during loading. Not only does this lower its value, it also creates opportunities for pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms to grow.
• Refrigeration units on trucks are designed to keep the product cool, not to cool it. In order to ensure that the proper temperatures will be maintained throughout the trip, pre-cool the produce and the truck before loading.
• A loading dock is a busy place and truck drivers are often rushed, but it is still important to properly label your boxes and keep good shipping records for traceability purposes.

CHOOSING THE BEST CITRUS PACKHOUSE SOFTWARE

CITRUS PACKHOUSE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS
Choosing a citrus packhouse management solution can be intimidating with many options on the market.  Among the many benefits of using Producepak solution, Producepak doesn't sell your data, or data mine your data for resale to your competitors and customers, unlike other solutions.


HYGENIC COOLING METHODS FOR CITRUS PACKHOUSES
If You Use Ice for Cooling, Ice is used in some crops such as broccoli and some leafy greens for rapid cooling and extended storability. If you are using ice, make sure it does not become a source of contamination. In a hepatitis A outbreak several years ago, the contaminated “hot spot” of green onions, and as the ice melted, it spread through the boxes, causing widespread contamination.
• Use only ice that is made from potable water.
• Transport and store ice in covered plastic or plastic-lined bins or bags—never in moisture-absorbent wooden or paper containers.
• Shovels and scoops used for dispensing ice should be made of noncorrosive aluminum, plastic, or stainless steel. Label them so they are never used for any other purpose.
• Clean and sanitize ice bins on a regular basis and store them off the ground so they do not become a source of contamination.
For Produce That Is Washed
• The water source must meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) microbial standards for drinking water (potable).
• Use a sanitizing agent in batch washing tanks.
• Use test strips or ORP (oxidation reduction potential) meters to regularly check concentration (for chlorine).
• Change water when dirty.
• Clean and sanitize tanks between uses.
• Clean hands and equipment regularly! 


KEEPING THE CITRUS PACKOUSE CLEAN
The drip pan is located directly under the refrigeration unit, fairly accessible, and can be removed and cleaned (first move those cases of vegetables below it). Also notice that the drip line exits the room before discharging. This helps keep the cold storage dry and doesn’t give pathogens a place to thrive.

Pallets keep produce containers off the floor. Notice the cooler floor is clean and dry. Wet cooler floors can harbor Listeria.