The inclusion of a washing and sanitization steps before cutting and during processing effectively reduces the risk of pathogen and residue contamination on fruits and vegetables from harvest and handling conditions. During sanitization, fruits and vegetables are subjected to an effective treatment to destroy or reduce the number of pathogenic microorganisms, without affecting the quality, safety or product. The effectiveness of washing to remove soil impurities and microbial contaminations is related to numerous factors, such as raw material spoilage, the duration of washing, the water temperature, the method of washing (dipping, rinsing, or dipping/ blowing), the type and concentration of the sanitizer and the type of fresh-cut fruit or vegetable. The selection of a sanitizer for fresh fruits and vegetables that are consumed raw is important, and thus the selected product should not only be effective in the elimination of pathogenic microorganisms but it should also be safe from a toxicological point of view. Currently, commercial operations use wash treatments with antimicrobials as the only step to reduce microbial populations on fresh fruits and vegetables