title: Selection criteria for water disinfection techniques in agricultural practices.
abstract: This paper comprises a selection tool for water disinfection methods for fresh produce pre- and postharvest practices. A variety of water disinfection technologies is available on the market and no single technology is the best choice for all applications. It can be difficult for end users to choose the technology that is best fit for a specific application. Therefore, the different technologies were characterized in order to identify criteria that influence the suitability of a technology for pre- or postharvest applications. Introduced criteria were divided into three principal components: (i) criteria related to the technology and which relate to the disinfection efficiency, (ii) attention points for the management and proper operation, and (iii) necessities in order to sustain the operation with respect to the environment. The selection criteria may help the end user of the water disinfection technology to obtain a systematic insight into all relevant aspects to be considered for preliminary decision making on which technologies should be put to feasibility testing for water disinfection in pre- and postharvest practices of the fresh produce chain.
authors.affiliation: a Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Biotechnology, Department of Industrial Biological Sciences, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University Campus Kortrijk , 8500 Kortrijk.
authors.forename: Sam van
authors.initials: Sv
authors.lastname: Haute
authors.forename: Imca
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sampers
authors.forename: Liesbeth
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jacxsens
authors.forename: Mieke
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uyttendaele
mesh_terms: D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D005524:Food Technology; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014881:Water Supply / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Fresh produce; cost-effectiveness; disinfection by-products; microbiological quality; physicochemical parameters; water disinfection