China is one of the leading garlic producers, known for its high-quality, premium garlic. But the questions often focus on the hygiene and quality standards of garlic production.
Is Chinese garlic toxic and not useful? Do Chinese producers practice the international safety and hygiene standards? Today, we will lay out the entire production process, including all quality standards, while understanding how China has transformed the garlic industry.
Sanitary Standards at the Garlic Farming Stage
Sanitary control in China is pretty tight to ensure international-grade color and quality.
Before harvesting, farming brings the real-time quality and updates the premium garlic by following these options:
- Clean soil. Heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and arsenic can contaminate and be toxic. Chinese farmers take care of them before farming.
- Safe irrigation water. Irrigation meets GB 5084 agricultural standards and promises a safe production.
- Controlled pesticide use. There is no aggressive use of pesticides to address longevity and quality. Instead, Chinese suppliers use only approved chemicals and strict pre-harvest intervals.
Farmers also implement the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). As per practice, they rotate crops, use limited pesticides, and ensure high-quality garlic harvesting.
Garlic Harvesting and Initial Handling Hygiene
It is not just farming that plays the game. Instead, proper handling and hygiene matters here.
Chinese rules are pretty strict and ensure quality handling. For example:
- Workers often wear gloves and protective clothing. It avoids contamination and maintains hygiene.
- Soil is allowed to dry naturally. This practice minimizes mold growth and promotes the ideal garlic growth with no sprouting. Even shelf life is high with proper storage practices.
- Tools and storage bins must be cleaned regularly. It keeps the system more efficient and hygienic.
Post-Harvest Processing for Garlic
Once garlic is in the post-harvesting phase, quality systems become much stricter. GACC standards ensure the export quality of garlic and ensure safe flights worldwide.
Food authorities implement international standards such as HACCP and ISO 22000 to ensure food safety and hygienic operations.
Processing occurs through the hygienic tools, such as:
- Corrosion-resistant materials. Processing facilities use stainless steel equipment to prevent rust and contamination.
- Separate working zones. Raw, sorted, and packaged garlic goes through unique and safe processing facilities. It avoids joint processing and contamination.
- Mandatory pest control programs. These programs decrease the use of pests with traps, barriers, and weekly inspection logs. Garlic becomes qualitative.
- Handwashing and sanitation stations. Proper hand washing and sanitation ensure a hygienic production.
Sorting, Grading, and Quality Control for Garlic
To ensure quality, garlic undergoes processing and grading. The quality control system further elevates quality.
Chinese farmers and processing industries apply a quality system to the whole garlic and find out:
- Mold
- Insects
- Mechanical damage
- Soft spots
- Discoloration
If garlic fails to fulfill the criterion of export, facilities remove it. Some countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, have strict rules on quality and hygiene. Therefore, it is necessary to test for quality; otherwise, you won’t get past customs.
Packaging and Sanitation for Garlic
In addition to processing, the high-quality garlic must be preserved effectively. With processing and drying, you increase lifespan. But with the quality packaging, you retain the quality until the products reach their destination.
The Chinese often use polywoven bags, mesh bags, and properly ventilated boxes. However, for fresh, peeled garlic, better techniques like vacuum storage are used.
There are a few necessary packaging instructions as well.
- Learn about the GB 4806 standards. Food-grade materials that comply with this standard must be used.
- There should be clean, dry packaging free of contamination and risks.
- There should be proper labeling. Cross-check and match the traceability codes, batch numbers, and origin information. They should all be authentic and meet the requirements.
- If you are shipping peeled garlic, it must be vacuum-sealed. This packaging can help prevent contamination and better adhere to import and export quality standards for garlic.
Microbiological and Chemical Safety Standards for Garlic
There should be advanced testing systems for microbiological safety. Chinese farmers and processing facilities ensure that garlic is high-quality and free of microorganisms.
They perform the tests to confirm:
- Total plate counts
- Mold and yeast levels
- E. coli
- Salmonella
- Listeria
- Heavy metals
- Pesticide residues
If any of the factors or microorganisms are found in garlic, they immediately discard the whole batch and process it again for safety.
Phytosanitary Requirements for Garlic
Garlic can’t leave China until it complies with the GACC rules and regulations. It ensures garlic is of premium quality and excellent in taste.
The inspection focuses on:
- Garlic, on visual examination, should be of high quality and uniform color. There should be no contamination or color changes.
- Cutting and sampling provide a sample to comply with the rules. If the sample fails, you might not get a green ticket.
- As per GACC rules, garlic should be clean and free of any mites and fungal spores. A proper inspection is conducted before a clean chit is given.
- Adequate moisture of 58-60% is sufficient in the garlic. Exceeding that quantity means garlic fails to comply with GACC rules.
Storage Systems for Garlic
Processing and storage are like sisters and brothers. You should manage them both accurately and maintain the quality. For the storage systems, there are a few requirements to keep the garlic safe during transport.
- 0°C to 2°C is the optimal storage temperature for fresh garlic during transit.
- There should be adequate humidity when using the cold chain and storage facilities.
- There should be no direct sunlight exposure to the garlic.
- Regular warehouse cleaning and disinfection are necessary to keep garlic in premium condition, with no cases of bacterial or fungal growth.
Conclusion
Chinese suppliers follow strict quality guidelines because they don’t get past borders. However, you should verify quality beforehand to avoid any issues.
Choose top-notch suppliers like Fenduni Garlic and enjoy premium-quality exports with the right shipping methods. We apply hygiene standards during production and harvesting, and ensure 100% customer satisfaction. Contact our experts right away!