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SURVEY OF APPLE GROWING, HARVESTING, AND CIDER MANUFACTURING PRACTICES IN WISCONSIN: IMPLICATIONS FOR SAFETY
Author(s) -
ULJAS HEIDI E.,
INGHAM STEVEN C.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of food safety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.427
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1745-4565
pISSN - 0149-6085
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-4565.2000.tb00290.x
Subject(s) - pasteurization , food science , business , agricultural science , pulp and paper industry , engineering , environmental science , chemistry
To evaluate the safety of current apple growing, harvesting and cider manufacturing practices in Wisconsin, cider manufacturers were contacted in a three‐phase survey. Results revealed that seasonal, small‐scale production was characteristic of the industry. Most cider mills produced less than 5,000 gal/year; only 6% produced more than 20,000 gal/year. Most cider makers used only tree picked apples (86%), inspected apples before washing (94%), washed (93%) and brushed (87%) apples, but only 16% of mills sanitized washed apples. Most mills (92%) sanitized cider making equipment after each use; however, only a few sanitized between custom pressing apples from different customers. Respondents reported that they strived to improve cider safety by pasteurization (43% of all cider), UV light treatment (4%), use of preservatives (30%), and HACCP (17%). For 31% of all cider, however, processors relied solely on refrigeration and/or freezing. These results show that most cider mills practice many steps believed to enhance cider safety, but results also identify procedures that must be addressed to further improve cider safety.