Is Stainless Steel Harvesting Equipment The Way To Go?

Food safety remains a major concern within the fresh produce industry, with growers taking great precautions in and out of the fields to follow strict leafy green best practices to avoid a foodborne illness outbreak. But when it comes to investing in new stainless steel harvesting equipment to facilitate sanitation, is the cost too great?

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Frank Maconachy, president and CEO of Ramsay Highlander in Gonzales, CA, and Peter DeGroot, engineering manager of Valley Fabrication in Salinas, CA, say investing in stainless steel equipment, though initially 10% to 20% higher in price than conventional mild steel harvesters, will quickly pay for
itself. One reason: maintenance.

“It’s cheaper to invest in an all-new stainless steel harvester from the beginning than to maintain mild steel equipment with trips to the shop for rust repair, maintenance, and repainting,” Maconachy says. “In one turn, one paint job, you could pay for an all new stainless steel machine.’”

Blasting Away Bacteria

To prevent bacteria buildup on harvesters, growers are washing down their equipment at least once daily, which can take a toll on conventional equipment, DeGroot says.

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“A painted mild steel harvester that is subject to daily wash down with chlorinated water will need to be painted every two years or sooner,” he says.

Maconachy agrees, saying although there are good mild steel coatings on the market, they are easily broken down with repeat high pressure washings.

“That introduces rust, creating a separation where pathogens can get in,” he says.

Newer enhancements to leafy green best practices and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) procedures include washing down harvesters when they are transported between fields and farms, in addition to the day’s end wash-down recommendation when the machine leaves the field.

All equipment that comes in contact with product can potentially harbor bacteria. To prevent it, Maconachy recommends the use of high-grade stainless steel in addition to these best practices.

“Using copper ionization with wash down provides a type of positive charge ion coating that adheres to negative charge material,” he says. “Positive and negative attract, building up a residue of ions for a kill factor that protects against Listeria, E. coli, Salmonella, and other bacteria.”

It’s not that stainless steel equipment requires fewer scrubbings, but the wash-down job is faster, requiring less labor, says DeGroot.

“The trend has been to use stainless steel in more areas, even if there is no chance of contact with the food product,” he says. “Now it is commonplace to construct the entire harvester, including the chassis, using stainless steel.”

Stainless steel just doesn’t rust like mild steel does, Maconachy says, and in some cases, the material is taken to a whole new level of pathogen protection.

“We have found that by polishing stainless steel to a mirror finish, the surface is much finer and pathogens can’t get into the material,” he says.

Depending on machine design, adding a mirror finish adds $10,000 to $50,000 to the cost of the machine, because the process takes more time and care, and adds labor to build the machine. Ultimately, though, the mirror finish pays for itself long-term. Though wash downs are still as frequent, twice daily or more, it doesn’t take as much time because the mirror finish on stainless steel cleans up faster, Maconachy says.

Build It Right

As an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Maconachy says his company is more in tune with technology than a local fabrication shop might be.

“The days of having equipment built at a local welding shop are in the past,” he says. “If you want it done right, come to a manufacturer that’s up on the technology. Of course it’s going to cost you more — our billable rate is higher — but OEMs like us address food safety issues for growers, making it less complicated. You’re going to get superior quality and not have to deal with problems when you cut corners.”

Maconachy warns growers to think about the consequences of not investing in the best equipment.

“Ten years ago, growers started taking buyers to the fields to see their new harvesting machines to win contracts,” he says. “Nowadays, if you don’t have a stainless machine, you may not be able to compete with growers who do.”

Stainless steel has provided a shift in technology, with growers of other crops like tomatoes looking into new harvesters.

“It’s starting to evolve beyond greens,” Maconachy says. “Other growers want that cleanliness from field to fork, too.”

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