Red Cell is the name given to the red color sometimes seen on Blackberries. This falls into the category of being somewhat controversial. To be honest, I have seen this reddish color on blackberries for years and never scored this as a defect. I never had seen another USDA inspector score this as a defect either. […]
Category Archives: Defect Identification
Blackberries- Red Cell
Onions- Surface Mold
When you encounter onions with surface mold you’ll have to make a quick determination. Is the mold a black mold, and you are finding it between the outer scales, or is the mold a white or light blue surface mold? If you are finding black mold, it most likely is a defect, scored against the […]
Pumpkins- Dirty
When receiving Pumpkins you should remember they are bought based upon grade standards, with U.S. No. 1 Grade being the most common grade. Pumpkins are harvested directly from the field, into bins and shipped to their destinations. No grading lines or packing houses are used in the process. Due to wet, rainy weather conditions you […]
Seedless Grapes- Developed Seeds
I have to admit, this is the first time I have heard of any issue involving developed seeds in grapes marketed as being seedless. Recently a retailer discovered a lot of Cotton Candy Grapes that contained brown, developed seeds. Is this a defect? If you are a logical thinker, you may take the position that […]
Apples- Insect Damage
Insect damage, affecting apples is pretty much straight forward. There are specific scoring guidelines for “injury,” “damage,” and for “serious damage.” All worm holes are scored as a free from defect, always score as a serious damage defect when found. If insect stings are found, the following guideline is offered: 51.316 Injury. (h) Insects: (1) […]
Grape Tomatoes- Sunken Areas
What would you do if you received a product, but all of the specimens looked odd, not like something you have ever seen before? These grape tomatoes, greenhouse grown, are firm, uniform in size and color, but the shape looks odd, with the sunken or dimpled areas. You would have two choices to make: Would […]
Table Grapes- Discolored Spots
This post is more of a general discussion, not just a defect specific to grapes. What would you do if you found a defect, like pictured here, that you were certain progressed into decay? In this case, these seedless grapes show numerous discolored spots. You can clearly see the discolored spots are eventually becoming decayed […]
Yellow Squash- Mosaic
Every now and then you come across an unusual defect. These images of defective summer squash were sent to me asking for my opinion. Even after all of the years I’ve been around produce, this one defect I’ve never seen before. So what do you do? My first suggestion would be to reference the […]
Red Leaf Lettuce- Light color
A good question was sent to me regarding a lot of red leaf lettuce that arrived at their doors. Is there a minimum “red” color requirement for red leaf lettuce? As you can see the red color is not very prominent, only extending an inch or two from the margins. My first reaction would be […]
Strawberries- Hollow Center
I have recently received a few questions regarding the presence of hollow cores, or centers of strawberries. This defect is caused by rapid growth, due to fertilizer or heavy rains combined with heat, causing the strawberry to grow faster on the outside than the inside. This condition is found in other fruits and vegetables, most […]