SALINAS, CA - As food safety remains top of mind for suppliers and consumers across the globe, SmartWash Solutions highlighted food safety month by announcing the SmartWash Circle of Excellence in recognition of top-performing U.S.-based processing plants.
"We understand the emphasis our customers place on food safety and wanted to develop a program that acknowledges and recognizes their commitment," said Angela Nunez, Vice President of Technical Support. "Since we’re capturing data from each line every few seconds, we can calculate performance metrics and call further attention to food safety by recognizing plants that are performing exceptionally well."
Founded on the idea of advancing process control systems to improve food safety as well as minimize wash line cross-contamination, SmartWash understands the value of food safety processes in produce. According to a press release, the criteria for Circle of Excellence includes consistent material flow and control through the ASAP equipment, along with proper machine initialization and shut down operations.
SmartWash’s own system includes conventional and organic wash enhancers as well as ASAP process control equipment that monitors and maintains precise wash water chemistry. The system also uses Process Pro Data Live (PPDL) technology to obtain and report live data.
"Produce plant employees work very hard to provide the world with fresh, top-quality produce, and teams at Circle of Excellence plants can take pride in knowing that when it comes to food safety, they are checking all the boxes," explained Steven Swarts, Director of Business Development.
Performance data on plants being considered for the Circle of Excellence will be collected between July 2020 and June 2021, with those meeting the SmartWash criteria being celebrated during next year’s food safety month in September.
With food safety being such an integral part of fresh produce, it is nice to see companies like SmartWash stepping in to recognize those who play such a pivotal role in our industry.
