Horticulture (Contamination Control)

What is Horticulture?

Horticulture is the process of growing and cultivating plants, including fruits, vegetables, and flowers. 

Horticulture considers various techniques and practices to manage and improve plant growth, health, and productivity. 

Horticulture can be a challenging area to work within due to product demands for specific growth media, the challenge of minimizing product spoilage due to contaminants, and ensuring that product volumes are sufficient to meet consumer demands.

What are the Key Challenges with Minimizing Contamination in Horticulture Products?

There are two main challenges for minimizing contamination with horticulture products:

1. The cleaning of growing trays is possibly the most difficult element for horticulture companies.

It is widely accepted that cleaning growing trays is a timely and expensive process and is not considered the most effective method for horticulture contamination control.

The washing process can be labor-intensive and requires significant investment in washing equipment. 

There is also a risk of post-washing contamination, which can result in the spoiling of many products.

2. Waste management is another critical element of managing the growing process. 

Disposing of used trays and pots can create significant waste, resulting in higher growing and waste management costs. 

Irradiation treatment allows for the reuse of pot and trays used in the growing process.

How Does STERIS AST Support Horticulture Customers? 

STERIS AST offers a range of irradiation technologies to eliminate potentially harmful pathogens from growth media and associated products, globally. 

We support horticulture Customers with effective and efficient processing to reduce bioburden on their growing trays, pots, and other equipment. 

Additionally, irradiation provides wholesale growers with an effective and safe method to recycle used pots and eliminate any potential pathogens they may harbor, allowing for the reuse of pots, growing mats, and trays.

To learn more about our range of processing technologies: Click here.

What Horticulture Products are Processed?

Some of the products regularly processed by STERIS AST include:

• Growth media: soil, substrates, and sphagnum
• Water and fertilizers
• Growing mats and trays
• Pots

STERIS AST operates under a quality system that is in compliance with 21 CFR Part 820 and applicable sections of 21 CFR Part 211. 

In addition, STERIS is registered to the ISO 13485 Quality Standards, and adheres to the requirements of ISO 11137 (Radiation) and ISO 11135 (EO).