Below are links to web sites and fact sheets that contain useful information on creating a packing house (aka packing shed) for rinsing and packing produce with produce safety in mind and guidelines to washing produce using disinfectants in the rinse water. Some are for larger scale operations and others are for smaller sized farms but all share work efficiency tips to maintain farmers’ produce safety and also increase profits.
Two Vegetable Wash Station Designs was developed by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. The wash station design is enclosed in a commercially available hoophouse structure with a poured cement floor, a wet section and a dry section, separated by a plastic curtain hung from the rafters of the hoophouse. The site provides diagrams, materials list, placement and size of components and other details. See more at: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/cool_tools/wash_stations2#sthash.FeS4VaSH.dpuf
GAP Certifiable Vegetable Wash Station also developed by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. The wash station design seems appropriate for a small vegetable farm harvesting up to approximately 100 units of crop. Complete construction and design plans can be found online at http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/cool_tools/wash_stations1
Packing Shed Layout 1 and Packing Shed Layout 2 were developed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Biological Systems Engineering Department for their Healthy Profits, Healthy Farmers Project. These Work Efficiency Tip Sheets discuss how to design a well organized, clear, step-by-step task and product flow in a packing shed for small-scale fresh market vegetable growers.
Why Triple Rinse Greens? was developed by the Center for Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Vermont. This fact sheet discusses how to reduce the potential for cross contamination by implementing a triple or double wash system and the equipment and disinfectants that can be used for washing produce.
Rinsing & Packing Produce with Produce Safety in Mind was developed by the Center for Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Vermont. This fact sheet discusses good hygiene and cleaning practices in the wash and pack shed that can improve produce quality and safety, extend shelf life, and increase worker efficiency by cutting down on wasted motion and improving ergonomics.