The challenge
Upon arrival at the processing facility, the carrots are washed to remove remaining soil and other dirt and additionally often pass through a hydrocooler to increase preservation. Large volumes of water are required during this process. However, these vegetables grown in open ground can be contaminated with a variety of different pathogens such as Pseudomonas spp., E. coli, Salmonella, Yersinia, and Shigella. The number of pathogens in the water can accumulate rapidly and cross contamination can occur if the microbial contamination of the water is not monitored and disinfected accordingly.
