Hygiene status of blueberry harvest containers cleaned and sanitized with various approaches

This study examined the hygiene status of blueberry harvest containers cleaned/sanitized with various approaches. Each of four blueberry facilities in Georgia or Oregon was visited twice during the 2021 harvest season. Swab samples from used berry lugs (UL), cleaned/sanitized lugs (CL), used handpicking buckets (UB), and cleaned/sanitized buckets (CB) in Georgia (n = 160) and from used berry flats (UF) and cleaned/sanitized flats (CF) as well as UB and CB in Oregon (n = 160) were collected. The populations of total aerobes (TA), total yeasts and molds (YM), and total coliforms (TC), as well as the incidences of fecal coliforms (FC), and enterococci (EC) were determined. In Georgia, the UL and UB had significantly (P < 0.05) higher TA and YM counts than their cleaned/sanitized counterparts. FC and EC were detected in 1.3% or 3.8% of the samples. In Oregon, UB had significantly higher mean YM and TC counts than CB. FC and EC were detected in 3.8% or 10.6% of the samples. Containers soaked in chlorinated water with manual washing/scrubbing seemed cleaner than those washed in a washing machine with un-chlorinated water. Chlorination of water in the washing machine after each use was, nevertheless, more effective than manual washing.