International Produce Training

One of the advantages of utilizing International Produce Training (IPT) for your produce inspection training classes is  IPT charges a flat fee for the training classes, as compared to a per person fee.  For example, the registration fee for the USDA’s Training Class ranges from $1825-$2325 per person, depending on if the registrant is a United Fresh member.

IPT charges a flat registration fee, regardless of the number of attendees in the class.  Some companies are hosting the training class and inviting employees from neighboring companies to attend.  By collecting  a small registration fee, these companies are more than able to offset the training expenses; in essence incurring no expense themselves for the training class.  The neighboring companies receive very affordable training on the inspection of fresh produce, without incurring any travel expenses, and limited lost time.  It is a win/win scenario for everyone.

If you are interested in exploring this opportunity please contact IPT for further information.  Click here to contact IPT.

 International Produce Training, in cooperation with Southeast Produce Council, is now accepting registrations for a two-day training class on the inspection procedures for fresh produce.  Although attendees from the May 2010 class receive priority, the registration is open to anyone interested in attending.  The class size is limited to the first twenty registrants.

Some of the commodities included on the agenda are:  Apples, Citrus, Pineapples, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Broccoli, Cauliflower and various Melons.

As with all IPT training classes, much of the emphasis is devoted to hands-on training, with participants inspecting actual specimens, identifying defects and properly scoring the specimens as defects or as being acceptable for the grade standard.

The class in October will be held in Hickory, NC.  The registration deadline is September 21, 2010.  For further information, please contact Southeast Produce Council.

If you or your organization would like to host your own training class, invite your own participants and choose your own commodities, please contact International Produce Training to schedule your event.

In collaboration with Southeast Produce Council, International Produce Training recently completed a produce inspection training class, from May 19-20, 2010. This two day class was the first of a four day training event. The second part of the training class is scheduled for October 6-7, 2010.

The participants were comprised of a cross-section of the produce industry, representing growers, shippers, wholesalers and buyers.  Arriving from Canada to Florida the group offered many varied opinions on their inspection procedures, their contract specifications, but they all shared a common goal of trying to improve their inspection program and to learn and understand the official USDA inspection procedures.  With the cost of USDA inspection fees continuing to rise many buyers and shippers are settling their own disputes, if product arrives not meeting their company specification.  The training class allowed the attendees an opportunity to adapt their inspection program to the USDA’s inspection program.

The inspection training course was geared towards explaining the USDA inspection procedures and terminology to everyone attending.  Much of the time was devoted to reading and understanding the various U.S. Grade Standards, their tolerances and grade requirements.  Each class was followed up with a hands-on grading exercise, where specific defects were identified and inspection procedures and cutting procedures were demonstrated.  The commodities covered in this class included:  Sweet Peppers, Potatoes, Blueberries, Lettuce, Strawberries, Table Grapes and Sweet Corn.  Having such a diverse group allowed for an open exchange of ideas and past experiences. 

If you would like to host a training event like this one, or you would prefer your own training class for your own employees, feel free to contact International Produce Training to reserve a date.

International Produce Training is pleased to announce it is now offering audit services to all aspects of the produce industry; growers, suppliers, and buyers.  

IPT will perform a third party audit on any of your suppliers.  The scope of the audit will verify if the proper inspection procedures are being followed, the defect scoring and identification is correct, and if the quality assurance personnel have been properly trained.  You will receive a final audit report, documenting the deficiencies in their quality control system, as well as corrective measures that will be incorporated.  Follow up audits will verify these corrective actions have been established and are working.

The auditor will act as an independent third party, auditing the quality control staff at a packing house, in the field, at dockside or at any facility. 

How many times has weather conditions or market prices affected the quality and consistency of the product you are purchasing?  An audit on site will verify that proper procedures are being followed, as well as random inspections of packed product.  Let IPT be your eyes in the field, as a trained auditor will report back to you the effectiveness of your supplier’s quality assurance procedures.

But I use a private inspector now, how will this help?  Private inspection companies are being used more and more each day, but unfortunately there is no governing body overseeing their training or inspection procedures.  IPT will verify to you if the inspector is trained, is qualified and is competent to inspect your product.

Will these audits save our company money?  An audit by IPT will allow your buyers to feel confident with their suppliers.  Knowing a “top of the line” quality assurance program is in place, being managed by a reputable staff, will ensure the product you’re buying is meeting your company’s quality specifications.  Trust but Verify!

I am happy to announce the date of the second group training event held in conjunction with Southeast Produce Council.  The dates of the two training classes are:

          May 19-20, 2010
            October 6-7, 2010

These training events will be held at Merchants Distributors, Inc, Hickory, NC.  These training classes provide an excellent opportunity for participants to receive a training  program based on the inspection procedures and guidelines of many commodities.  The course agenda is structured to allow particiapants with extensive hands-on instruction.  Nine commodities have been chosen for the first class, and nine different commodities will be covered in the second training class.

The classes will include about 4 hours of reviewing the inspection basics and procedures, the inspection terminology, sampling procedures and the explanation of reading and understanding the U.S. Grade Standards for fresh fruit and vegetables.
 
The remainder of the lessons are devoted to individual commodities, such as the inspection instructions, defect identification, defect scoring guidelines and the tolerances involved for that particular commodity.  Each lecture is followed up with a demonstration and/or hands-on grading exercise where the participants will actually inspect a carton of produce based on the U.S. Grade Standard.  Official USDA visual aids are introduced as well as the necessary inspection equipment, such as sizing rings, a refractometer or a penetrometer.

For registration and lodging information and to review the course agenda, please click here.

See you there!

You will find a new feature added to my home page. 
“Take the IPT Quiz” will take you to a page devoted to quizzes designed to test your fresh produce inspection knowledge.  The quizzes are designed to challenge all skill levels.  For those slightly less experienced, utilize the Inspection Guidelines for your reference.  I’ll update the quizzes periodically and provide you additional opportunities to test your knowledge.

If you have any suggestions of quiz topics (apple quiz, citrus quiz, vegetable quiz) be and sure and let me know.

With every one’s budgets being closely scrutinized, it has never more important than now to make sure you are spending your training dollars wisely.  As training expenses are usually the first targets to take a hit, with some careful planning you can still ensure your staff is properly trained at minimum cost.

Most produce companies utilize the “hand me down approach,”  as a seasoned QA personnel passes down their knowledge to those new to the produce world.  Although this may appear to be cost effective at first glance, the experienced workers may not be as qualified or up-to-date on the new scoring guidelines and grade standards as you would hope.  They may actually be passing down incorrect information to the future QA Staff of your company.  These mistakes could lead to huge losses by receiving produce with quick moving defects, such as russet spotting on lettuce, or bitter pit on apples and rapid moving decays, such as anthracnose on watermelons, or bacterial soft rot on tomatoes, or transportation problems with chilled or frozen product.

When making decsions on your training needs, remember a few points to help keep your costs down, but still enure an effective training program:

• * Don’t pay for individual registration fees and travel expenses to attend a training class, when it is more affordable to bring the trainer to you
• * Create a training class with the proper objectives for your company. (Don’t waste your time on attending a training class on commodities that are of no interest to you)
• * Keep the class size small, to ensure your staff is receiving personalized instruction.
• * Not all training has to be formal. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and request a “hands-on” training method.  Many people learn better from seeing and watching than by sitting and listening.

“Remember, for learning to take place with any kind of efficiency students must be motivated. To be motivated, they must become interested. And they become interested when they are actively working on projects which they can relate to their values and goals in life.”
Gus Tuberville, President, William Penn College

Please comment if you have any ideas, suggestions or comments to share, concerning your training program.