Good Management Practices for Safe Apple Growing, Packing, and Cider Production

This section offers guidelines for recognizing potential food safety hazards in apple growing, packing, and juice production operations. Apples and apple products can become contaminated at any point in the growing, packing, and processing continuum. By taking steps to identify and prevent potential hazards, the Pennsylvania apple industry will continue to maintain consumer confidence in apples and apple products.

"Good Management Practices for Safe Apple Growing, Packing, and Cider Production" is intended to identify a broad range of potential microbial, chemical, and physical hazards that may occur during growing, packing, and distribution of fresh apple products. The scientific basis for identification and prevention of these hazards is not complete. However, the guidelines in this publication are based on established sanitation and hygiene principles for use in food processing and agricultural packing environments. Food safety control measures presented here were drawn from the following documents:

  • "Current Good Manufacturing Practice in Manufacturing, Packing, or Holding Human Food (CFR 21 Part 110)," Code of Federal Regulations (http://seafood.ucdavis.edu/sanitation.html)
  • "Guidance for Industry--Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables," U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  •  "Codex Alimentarius Food Hygiene--Basic Texts," World Health Organization/U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization


Potential hazards and control measures are divided into three sections:

  • Orchard operations
  • Packing operations
  • Cider processing


In each section, the purpose for the guidelines that follow, potential hazards, and preventative or corrective measures are provided. Potential hazards and control methods identified here may not apply to all situations. Individual growers, packers, and distributors, therefore, should seek to identify additional potential hazards and control measures in their own operations as a complement to the broad principles presented in this guide.



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