Abstract
Surface swab samples (n = 464) were collected from various sites on 4 fresh peach packing lines in Georgia at 9 a.m. (T1), 12 p.m. (T2), and 3 p.m. (T3) in 3 repeated visits per line during the harvest seasons of 2018 and 2019. Each swab sample was collected from a 100 cm2 area. The collected samples were analyzed for the levels of total aerobes (TA), total yeasts and molds (YM), and total coliforms (TC), as well as the incidences of thermo-tolerant coliforms (TTC) and enterococci (EC). Counts of the three hygiene indicators in the T1 samples were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than those in the T2 and T3 samples. The incidence of TTC increased from 13.50% in the T1, to 45.83% in the T3, samples, while that of EC from 6.75% to 15.11%. The key areas with greater hygiene indicator counts and higher incidence of TTC and EC were the optical sizer and brushes/rollers inside the washer. Harvest bin had a comparable mean YM count with the brushes/rollers inside the washer. Samples from the manual sorting area had the highest TTC incidence among samples collected from all surveyed sites. The study pinpointed the most heavily contaminated areas on fresh peach packing lines.
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