Safe And Quality Apples From The Orchard To The Consumer

Joan Hegerfeld-Baker
Instructor & Food Safety Specialist

Above: Some ‘Honeycrisp’ apples ready to harvest.
Photo Credit: Photo by David Hansen, Univ. of Minnesota

Fall is here, and apple-picking season has started. Growers have several options to market their fresh apple crop. They may sell directly to the consumer at a roadside stand, at the orchard, farmer’s market, pick your own at the orchard, or through a retail or wholesale market. Selling safe apples starts in the field and must be evaluated throughout the entire process.

The most common food safety risks of fresh picked apples relate to contamination of a ready-to-eat fruit and improper storage. Use the following practices to reduce the risk of contaminating fresh apples with pathogens:

• Do not sell or consume fallen apples
• Store apples in containers that have been adequately cleaned and sanitized.
• Provide adequate hand washing facilities in the orchard as well as areas of the farm or orchard where packaging is carried out. Always wash hands before picking or handling fruit.
• Food handlers that are sick with a foodborne illness or have symptoms of diarrhea should not be handling fresh fruit or clean containers or bags the apples are stored in.
• All water used to wash hands, equipment and fruit must meet safe drinking water standards.
• Store harvested apples in secure locations that are not accessible by animals (including birds and family pets), and the general public.

Storage conditions and handling at harvest time are critical to the safety and quality of fresh apples. After harvest, cool apples as quickly as feasible to 32 to 36 degrees F. Apples are best stored unwashed, at 32-34 degrees F, and at 80-90% humidity (or as high as possible without free water accumulating on the apples or storage surfaces). An exception is the “Honeycrisp” variety, which can be damaged by very low (32 degrees F) temperatures. Honeycrisp apples need to be conditioned after harvest by storage for five to seven days at cool temperatures (50 to 68 degrees F) before placing into the colder storage, preferably at 38 degrees F.

Do not store apples near lettuce or carrots, as the ethylene (a natural ripening hormone) from the apples will cause browning on the lettuce, and bitterness in the carrots.

Source : SDSU