End-of-Season Cleaning & Sanitizing Checklist

Use the following checklist for equipment and surfaces that require cleaning and sanitizing. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions for your equipment and cleaning and sanitizing products.

Harvest tools and equipment

• Harvest tools (knives, pruners, other hand tools)

• Mechanical harvest equipment and produce-contact components

• Inspect blades, fasteners, handles, and moving parts for wear or damage

• Identify tools that need sharpening, repair, replacement, or retirement

Harvest bins and containers

Avoid nesting or stacking containers in ways that may contaminate food contact surfaces.

• Harvest bins, totes, buckets, and reusable containers

• Wood boxes and other wooden harvest containers

• Pick bags

• Reusable packing materials

Wash/pack equipment

Now is the time to get into the places that are difficult to access during the season. Materials that are cracked, deteriorating, or no longer cleanable may need to be replaced.

• Spray tables, packing tables, sorting tables

• Conveyors, belts, rollers

• Sinks

• Dunk tanks, tubs, and bubblers

• Barrel washers

• Salad spinners

• Foam rollers, pads and other porous food-contact materials

• Surfaces where produce, bins or equipment are placed

• Any other food-contact surfaces

Packhouses and surrounding areas

Dirt, pests, and contamination on surrounding surfaces can be a source of contamination.

• Wash/pack area walls and floors

• Cooler walls, ceilings, strip curtains, racks, and floors

• Loading docks

• Transportation Vehicles

• Racks

• Remove plant debris, brush, and other habitat near packhouses and storage areas

  
  

A note on power washing

Power washing is useful in the removal of tough to remove build up. High-pressure spray can also spread contamination over a broad area. When using a power washer:

• Consider the surface or location being pressure washed

• Remove loose debris before using a power washer

• Protect nearby produce, clean harvest containers, and other clean food contact surfaces.

• Always use water free of generic E. coli.

• Review the Michigan State University Extension power-washing video