Triple washing raw-eaten greens such as leaf-lettuce and spinach

Summary

We fill all 3 bays of the wash sink with cold potable water. Produce is placed in the left-most sink and submerged by pushing the material underwater a few times. Produce is then lifted from the sink and some of the water is shaken out before it is dropped into the center sink. It is again submerged and swished 2-3 times before being lifted out and placed into the final rinse in the right-most sink. Produce is then placed into a spinner and spun at low speed for a few minutes.

Steps

1. During the cooler morning hours, harvest greens into a harvest can that is lined with a clear, unscented trash can liner. Full bag will hold approx. 8-15 lbs of produce. Place greens in cooler immediately after harvest.
2. Spray/wipe clean and sanitize all 3 bays of the sink and the spinner (inner and outer compartments) prior to greens washing. Set 5-gallon compost buckets under sinks for collecting culled greens. Wash your hands and forearms before washing greens.
3. Fill all three sink bays from left to right, with well-water from hose hanging over faucet (which runs about 48 F). Fill bays about ¾ full with water only
4. Empty bag of greens into left, “dirty” sink bay, potentially while the water is filling. There should be approximately 10 lbs. of greens in the sink.
5. Using your hands, gently agitate greens with a lifting and swirling motion. Spend about 5 minutes lifting and agitating greens, carefully inspecting and culling any compromised product, insects, sticks rocks, etc. The lifting agitation time allows grit to
6. Using your hands, lift product out of the sink bay and gentle shake (for perhaps 10 seconds) over that bay until the majority of rinse water has drained from the greens. Transfer hand-drained product into the next bay to the right and repeat the steps lis
7. Change the water in the left bay whenever water gets significantly cloudy, Approximately every 2-3 rinses, depending on the level of dirt on the incoming produce. Change the water in the middle bay when dirt or debris is visible-about every 3-5 rinses. Th
8. From the right-side “clean” bay hand drain and transfer greens into the spinner to the right and set to spin for approximately 3 min.
9. After spinning, hand transfer greens into a clean green slotted packing crate, label date(/) and place on a shelf in the cooler.