U.S. Food & Drug Administration Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition APPLE CIDER FOOD SAFETY CONTROL WORKSHOP July 15-16, 1999

APPLE HILL QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM AND GUIDELINES

Dave Bolster
Senior Agricultural Biologist

BACKGROUND

The Apple Hill Growers Association was created in 1964 to promote Direct Marketing of their agricultural products. It was so successful that now over 2 million people annually come to Apple Hill to buy a box of apples, an apple pie and fresh apple juice/cider. Apple Hill developed a positive marketing image by providing fresh, wholesome and healthy products that the public could not buy in the supermarket. Fresh apple juice/cider is an important part of the reason people come to Apple Hill each year. Any negative publicity about apples would have a negative impact on their products because of the reputation for quality and high profile.

When E.coli 0157 H:7 was found in fresh apple juice in 1996 Apple Hill Juice/Cider Processors were concerned about what impact this would have on their product. Apple Hill Juice/Cider Processors had always produced a quality product, not using grounders, to make their fresh apple juice/cider. To insure that they were producing a safe product they asked the California Health Department and the FDA to inspect their facilities and advise them on how they could improve their present operations. As a result the Apple Hill Juice/Cider Quality Assurance Plan (AHQAP) was developed in cooperation government health agencies. The plan met the food safety requirements of FDA and the small cider mills could afford the improvements without putting them out of business. In addition the QAP provided the Apple Hill Processors something POSITIVE to give public when they asked about their product safety. As a result of the AHQAP retail sales of fresh apple juice/cider were not hit nearly as hard during the 1997 Apple Hill season as other areas.

APPLE HILL QUALITY ASSURANCE PLAN

The AHQAP is a comprehensive, integrated program of voluntary guidelines for apple production and juice/cider processing that enhance the safety and quality of unpasteurized apple juice/cider from "bloom to bottle." The plan was developed using a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)- based approach. The following are the Essential Elements of the Plan.

ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDELINES

1. Processors must develop and implement an individual Quality Assurance Plan (QAP).

2. Designate a manager, employee or employees as the official quality control supervisor(s) for in-house processing.

3. Establish and maintain a record keeping system from "bloom to bottle".

4. Processors must maintain identification of fruit from "field to bottle".

5. Purchase apples only from growers who provide a "grower agreement" stating the fruit was produced and harvested using cultural and production practices that minimize the potential for microbial contamination.

6. Purchase apples from commercial packing houses that meet commercial "peeler grade" standards ("U.S. 1" Processing Grade).

   APPLE PRODUCTION GUIDELINES

7. Employ cultural, production, and harvesting practices that minimize the potential for microbial contamination of apples in the orchard.

   These practices include, but are not limited to:

   1. Field Sanitation: Provide toilet and hand washing facilities that meet federal and state standards for quantity and accessibility.

   2. Livestock Grazing: Do not allow livestock to graze in orchards.

   3. Livestock Fertilizers: Do not use livestock fertilizers or biosolids as a nutrient source for apple trees.

   4. Harvest: Supervise the harvesting process to ensure that only tree-picked apples are placed into bins or field containers.

8. Meet applicable standards for water quality and agricultural practices.

9. Place fruit received into cold storage or into an enclosed area until used for processing.

   JUICE/CIDER PROCESSING

10. Follow GENERAL SANITARY GUIDELINES for unpasteurized apple juice/cider production and processing.

11. Follow daily plant Sanitary Operating Procedures (SOP's).

12. Use only tree-picked fruit for juice/cider processing.

13. Apples used in processing meet or exceed the minimum standards for "U.S. Cider" grade as specified in the "U.S. Standards for Grades of Apples for Processing".

14. Prior to processing, grade, inspect and wash all apples.

15. Use water in the processing facility that meets drinking water standards.

16. Wash apples in water containing an approved anti-microbial agent in which the levels are monitored at appropriate intervals. Rinse apples with potable water before grinding and pressing.

17. Establish and conduct a pest control program.

18. Place juice/cider into refrigeration until final distribution to the consumer.

19. Conduct an environmental monitoring program in the processing facility to verify sanitation.

    TRAINING

20. Establish a training program that addresses:
    1. General sanitation practices in the processing plant and in the field.

    2. Personal hygiene practices in the processing plant and in the field.

    3. Cultural and harvest practices in the orchard.

    PRODUCT LABELING

21. The label, "fresh unpasteurized" will be placed on the caps of all fresh juice/cider containers.

    PROGRAM VERIFICATION

22. Verification of compliance with the QAP will be monitored by staff from the El Dorado County Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the California Department of Health Services, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the El Dorado County Department of Environmental Health.

23. Processors who are in compliance with the AHQAP are entitled to use the program's official seal.

SUMMARY

What has made the AHQAP successful? There were a number of elements, but the most important one was cooperation between industry and government. Other elements were:

1. The plan was voluntary.

2. Industry took pride of ownership of the plan.

3. State Health and the FDA were willing to set aside their enforcement role and advise the industry on what they could do to improve juice/cider safety.

4. The local Department of Agriculture was able to act as a facilitator.

More was gained through cooperation (carrot) as industry saw they had something to gain and were not simply complying with another government regulation (hammer). Regulations have a role in insuring product safety but they should not be the entire program.