With some 53-billion servings of salad and 75-billion servings of fruit reaching American tables each year, the health and safety of the nation’s produce supply is no small matter.
Surprisingly, though, the discovery of pathogens on leafy green vegetables and many varieties of fruit is a hit-or-miss affair, as consumers are sometimes reminded by news of fatal outbreaks of E. coli and salmonella in chives, lettuce and other vegetables, as well as fruits such as tomatoes, grapes, and melons.
That situation can start to change early in 2009, when Hanson Technologies of Carlisle introduces a revolutionary new system for screening harvested vegetables and fruit for the infiltrations of pathogens. Bill Hanson, founder and co-inventor with others at Hanson Technologies of a new system that screens vegetables and fruits for contamination, says that the Omnifresh-1000(tm) significantly increases the level of confidence for discovery of contamination.
Current methods of probing vegetables and fruit for pathogens rely upon samples collected randomly by hand from lots as large as 30,000 pounds. The process typically uses 60 samples per lot to detect dangerous microbes. That method achieves a very low level of confidence–about 6 percent-that contaminants will actually be found. Bringing pathogen detection into the modern age, Hanson’s technology uses laser light and digital imaging to identify any molecular-sized microbes. According to third-party analysis, the system achieves that result with 99-percent certainty. The technology also significantly reduces the time to determine the presence of threats, from the current standard of one to three days, down to one or two hours.
“We are going to set a new standard for food safety,” Hanson says.
Based upon bio-statistical analysis of 100 gallons of water collected after washing vegetables and fruit, the Omnifresh-1000(tm) will screen the entire lot of produce delivered to the processing plant–between 3,000 and 30,000 pounds of produce at a time.
“The number of pathogen outbreaks for E. coli and salmonella will be reduced,” Hanson says. “This level of discovery is important for both public health and food safety.”
“One of the largest produce companies in the United States” will receive the system in the first quarter 2009, Hanson says. With favorable reviews already from the food industry–and the attention of Pennsylvania’s secretaries of health and agriculture–Hanson anticipates broad adoption of the technology and growth for the company over the next several years. The company now employs about 10 people. He projects that number will grow to 100 employees within five years as more biologists, engineers, and marketing and sales personnel join the company to meet demand for the system.
Source: Hanson Technologies, Bill Hanson
Writer: Joseph Plummer
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