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Welcome to Food Safety in a Minute.
Enjoy adding sun-dried tomatoes to hummus or pasta? The next two weeks, we focus on the food safety behind commercial sun-dried tomatoes.
Just picked tomatoes arrive by truck to a dry yard. They are washed, sorted, sliced in half, inspected, and placed in large wooden trays. The three by six-foot trays are made of Douglas fir or plywood. Using wooden trays retains heat overnight, they are lighter, easier to handle than metal, and prevent tomatoes from sliding during handling. Trays are covered then stacked to allow air to flow for drying for five to seven days.
Learn more by reading The Sunny Side of Food Drying by Richard Stier. The link is listed with our printed episode text.
From Washington State University Extension, I’m Susie Craig.
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Resources
Richard Stier. The Sunny Side of Food Drying (11/7/25). Institute of Food Technologists. Food Technology Magazine – Applied Science. Accessed online 1/9/26.