Selection, cleaning, and conditioning
In this conditioning stage, the raw material is selected following strict quality standards, and all inedible parts are removed. Afterwards, the product is cut according to the specifications established by each team.
It is important to highlight that the hygiene process is the critical operation at this stage, as it is essential to ensure food safety and the shelf life of the final product.
Calculation in the Hygiene Stage
In the washing of vegetables for the production of fresh-cut (IV Range) products, the use of sanitizing agents is very common. Let’s practice with this example the calculation of the amount of sanitizing agent to add to our wash water.
We have a bottle of commercial sodium hypochlorite whose label indicates a concentration of 37 g/L of active chlorine. For the washing process of a leafy vegetable, such as lettuce, the quality protocol requires preparing a 50-liter immersion bath with a final disinfectant concentration of 100 ppm (parts per million).
Question: What volume of commercial sodium hypochlorite (in milliliters) should be added to the 50 liters of solution to reach the desired concentration?
Enter the result in mL.