Company works to keep produce clean
By
Mike Essian, WINK News
Story Created:
Jun 11, 2008 at 5:48 PM EST
Story Updated:
Jun 11, 2008 at 6:43 PM EST
IMMOKALEE, Fla. - An Immokalee company is helping produce packers clean things up, with the hopes of prevent bacteria outbreaks from happening.
Salazar Machine and Steel Inc., makes a machine that washes produce packing bins.
Pete Salazar owns the business. "Its a big dishwasher in the sense that it washes and sanitizes the bins," he said.
"Sometimes there's a product that could be left in the bin and if you don't take that product out and wash the bin, you start having the bacteria building up in there."
Salazar says it's bacteria like e. coli or salmonella that can make you sick, and is the source of some recent scares.
Without the machine, companies use pressure washers to clean each bin, individually, once or twice a season. But with the machine, each bin can be washed every time it's used with water and a sanitizer.
"What our machine does is it has the capability of washing, of cleaning and sanitizing 300 bins per hour," he said.
Everett Loukonen, the agri-business manager for Barron Collier Partnership, says their company has two machines, in use for the past two seasons.
The company has 1200-1500 bins and from a food safety standpoint, Loukonen says the machines make all the difference in the world.
Salazar has sold machines as far away as Oregon and Canada. Some growers are even sending their produce through the machines to be washed.
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