Maintaining clean and sanitary harvesting equipment is critical to food safety and operational efficiency. Follow these 7 essential steps to ensure your equipment is properly cleaned and sanitized: 

Step 0: Preparation 

• Remove all product, supplies and waste from the area. 

• Relocate equipment to prevent cross-contamination. 

• Inspect and report any abnormal conditions. 

Step 1: Dry Cleaning 

• Remove visible soils from food-contact and adjacent surfaces. 

• Wipe excess grease from motors and bearings. 

• Run conveyors slowly to assist in soil removal. 

Step 2: Pre-Rinse 

• Rinse surfaces to remove debris and visible soils. 

• Focus on hard-to-reach areas. 

• Slowly run conveyors to ensure thorough rinsing. 

Step 3: Detergent Application 

• Apply detergent to all food-contact and adjacent surfaces. 

• Ensure detergent doesn’t dry before scrubbing and rinsing.   

Step 4: Scrubbing 

• Use color-coded brushes to avoid cross-contamination. 

• Scrub all areas thoroughly, including hard-to-reach areas. 

Step 5: Detergent Rinse 

• Rinse top to bottom to remove detergent and debris. 

• Avoid spraying near the ground to prevent contamination. 

Step 6: Post-Cleaning Inspection 

• Inspect for cleanliness (no soil, debris, or detergent residue).   

• Address deficiencies and conduct re-cleaning if necessary.   

• Document cleaning and inspection results. 

Step 7: Sanitize 

• Apply sanitizer to food-contact and adjacent surfaces.
• Reassemble conveyers and other components
• Release equipment for harvesting
• Rember to verify strength of sanitizing solution