Front Row L/R-  Osmin Mercedez, O’Neal  Hendrix, Chris Nichols, Blair Greenhill, Jim Distefano, Ben Nash, Jim Windle, Nick Hood, Wade Davis    Back Row L/R- Nyerere Francis, Bruce Letchworth, Lee Allmon, Ernesto Sanabria, Brent Miller, Wayne King, Dale Hubbard, Tom Yawman, Steve Bradshaw (Not pictured- Tony Harmon)

The class was hosted by General Produce, Inc., Forest Park, GA.  These annual training courses are open, with no registration fee, for any member of the Southeast Produce Council.  Non members are allowed to attend with a nominal registration fee. 

The training class is designed to allow for ample time for hands on inspection exercises.  Each commodity includes a short lecture, explaining the sampling procedures, grades, tolerances and common defects for each.  Grading exercises, complete with a demonstration depicting cutting methods and defect identification follow.  Some of the main commodities covered in this inspection training class included: Apples, Lettuce, Onions, Tomatoes and Melons.

Plans are being made for the the training classes in 2012.  Tentative dates are May 9-10, with the class being held in Salisbury, NC.    Updates about class dates and location will be forthcoming.  Watch this web site for news regarding registration.  The class size will be limited to the first twenty registrants.

• To read and understand U.S. Grade Standards and defect tolerances
• Defect identification
• Defect scoring guidelines
• Proper inspection procedures, including sampling, sizing and cutting for internal defects
• Proper use of inspection terminology and use of general terms
• The ability to determine if a lot is in grade or out of grade 

The USDA is simply out-pricing themselves right out of the inspection business.   Most chain stores and major wholesalers refuse to request inspections from the USDA.  If a shipper requests an inspection on rejected product the receiver will oblige, but the inspection fees for all rejected product are borne by the shipper.  But with the USDA poised to raise their inspection fees once again, shippers across the country are depending on the receivers’ own in-house inspections to determine where to send rejected loads.  If the receiver demonstrates a competent quality assurance staff, the shipper will accept their inspection numbers and fore-go paying the USDA’s inflated inspection fees.  Many wholesalers are also using the certification to present to potential customers, ensuring their product is indeed top quality.

Aside from inspection fees, many receivers are finding it more and more difficult to find a local USDA inspection office to perform inspections.  I asked one recent company if they used the USDA inspection service for their problem loads and the buyer responded, “The USDA?  Are they still doing inspections?”  Not too long ago there were USDA offices and inspectors in Providence, RI, Charleston, WV, New Orleans, LA, Salt Lake City, UT, El Paso, TX, Buffalo, NY, Harrisburg, PA, Knoxville, TN and Columbus, OH.  No more.  If a shipper or receiver wishes to request an inspection in most parts of the country they face inspection fees of at least $115 per commodity, round trip mileage of $1.32/mile and possible additional overtime at a rate of $38/hour, all totally up to hundreds and hundreds of dollars.

Fortunately IPT will provide wholesalers receiving staff certification for successfully completing the training course and shippers are welcome to verify any certifications.

This very lively, interactive group originated from produce companies primarily in the southeast, with a few participants coming from New Hampshire and The Bronx, NY.  The group was comprised with varying degrees of experience and job functions, offering their input and comments throughout the class.

The first half day consisted of classroom style lectures, reviewing the basics of performing an inspection, introduction to the inspection terminology, and learning how to read and understand the U.S. Grade Standards.

The remainder of the time was spent reviewing specific commodity inspection procedures, defect identification and defect scoring guidelines for that commodity, as well making the determination of the lot would be “in-grade”, accepted or rejected.

The commodities covered during this training class included: Peppers, Potatoes, Grapes, Mangos, Blueberries, Peaches, Strawberries, Corn and Summer Squash.  Having such a diverse group offered everyone the opportunity to share their experiences and some of their company specifications and causes for rejection with the class.

Front Row- L/R- Mike Roper, Wade Davis, Blair Greenhill, Jim Distefano, Osmin Mercedez, Abdellah Lafridi,       Back Row- Tom Yawman, Nick Hood, Lee Allmon, Ben Nash, Bruce Letchworth, Jose Cardenas, Brent Miller, Nyerere Francis, Chris Nichols, Dale Hubbard

The second half of the training event is being scheduled for a 2-day class, hosted once again by General Produce, Inc, Forest Park, GA, on October 12-13, 2011.  If you are interested in attending this training class please contact Southeast Produce Council for registration information.

Although the training class is open to everyone, priority is given to current members of the Southeast Produce Council.  For members, there is no registration fee.  For non-members there is a registration fee of $495, which includes a one year SPC membership.

Registered attendees will be offered the opportunity to express their choices of commodities to be covered in the training class.

To register for this training class please visit Southeast Produce Council’s web site.

There were 17 attendees at the class, mostly from companies located in the southeast.  Their job duties varied, as well as their experience level with inspecting fresh produce.

The interaction between the participants proved beneficial, as the class was made of grower-shippers, wholesalers, retailers and brokers.  The attendees all shared their expertise with one another, drawing on their own experiences and policies established by their companies.

Basic inspection terminology, defect identification, commodity specific inspection procedures, cutting procedures, sampling and USDA tolerances and PACA’s good delivery tolerances were all discussed during the two-day training class.  Some of the commodities covered were:  Apples, Citrus, Cauliflower, Melons, Cucumbers and Pineapples.

Most of the training classes by International Produce Training are held on location, at the sponsoring company’s warehouse.  SPC sponsored this training event for primarily their members, although the class was open to anyone wishing to attend.  The registration fee was free to members of SPC and small registration fee was collected by SPC, which accounted for registration into the training class, as well as 12 month membership with SPC.  The classes in 2010 were held at Merchants Distributors, Inc., Hickory, NC.

Plans are underway for 2011.  Additional training classes, open to anyone, will be held in a location to be determined, in the spring and fall of 2011.  Please check this website for updates, as well Southeast Produce Council for training announcements.

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.

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.

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!

          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!