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Water Quality
All areas in the packing facility must have a source of hot and cold potable running water with sufficient pressure for all required washing of fruit and equipment and daily floor washing.
If nonmunicipal water is used, it must meet minimum federal standards for drinking water. In Pennsylvania, a private water source must be tested by a certified laboratory each year between August 15 and September 15.
All modifications to the plumbing system should be completed by a licensed plumbing contractor and inspected for conformance with local building codes. All hoses inside and outside the plant should have anti-siphoning devices installed.
Surface water or other water of uncertain microbiological quality should not be used for cooling, drenching, or washing operations or in dump tanks, unless it has been treated with an approved disinfectant.
Water used to sanitize food contact surfaces may be treated with sodium hypochlorite or other approved chemicals to prevent accumulation of harmful microorganisms. The concentration of residual chlorine should be maintained at 50 to 100 ppm by monitoring regularly with a chlorine test kit.
The temperature of dump tank water should be kept at least 10 degrees F warmer than the apples. This is important because when the water temperature is colder than the apples, a slight vacuum forms within the fruit. Water and any contaminants it might contain can then be drawn inside the apple through calyx and stem areas, lenticels, punctures, and cracks. This is generally not a problem if the dump tank water contains a disinfectant and if apples are cooled before packing.
Clean drinking water should be made available to workers.
Contaminated drinking water may infect workers, who may then contaminate apples during harvesting and handling.