Taking the heat out of freshly harvested romaine and leaf lettuces is essential. One of the methods commonly used is hydro-cooling. For the most part it is a very effective method used in the leaf lettuce industry. Unfortunately one of the drawbacks sometimes results in watersoaked leaves. As you can see from the image above the leaves affected […]
Category Archives: Defect Identification
Romaine- Watersoaked Leaves
Plums- Internal Discoloration
When inspecting plums it always a good idea to cut a few plums in each sample to look for internal discoloration. There is usually no external indication which plum might show the problem. As a common practice, I start cutting the plums with the most give, the riper plums in the sample. If those plums […]
Watermelons- Seeds in Seedless Varieties
Have you wondered why seedless watermelons have seeds? And if the watermelons with seeds are defects? Well, the white seeds you occasionally find in seedless watermelons are not actually mature seeds. They are white seed coats, where a seed never did mature. It is safe to eat these seeds, as these seeds will never grow […]
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Sweet Peppers- Decayed Stems
For the most part inspecting sweet peppers is fairly simple. There are a few common defects you will notice, but you should always be on the look out for decayed peppers. When you are inspecting the peppers, and you come across one that has decay, you must determine and note if the decay is affecting the […]
Apricots- Discoloration
You will almost always come across light brown to dark brown surface discoloration when inspecting apricots. The apricot’s skin is very tender and easily susceptible to discoloration resulting from what is commonly referred to as “roller damage.” Roller damage was the common culprit, as the fruit would be roughed up along the packing the lines, […]
Sweet Corn- Auxiliary Ears
Were you wondering what the defect “Auxiliary Ears” is? When inspecting sweet corn, either white, yellow, or bi-color corn, you may come across an ear of corn that has an extra ear attached. Many times these tag-alongs will not be fully developed ears, but will be smaller in size than the regular ears and the […]
Cantaloups- Sunken Discolored Areas
You receive a load of cantaloups and notice a few of them have sunken spots or sunken areas scattered over the surface. Don’t confuse these sunken areas with bruising, as bruising will show flattened areas, will be soft to the touch, and most likely will show a watersoaked/translucent appearance to the underlying flesh. These sunken areas […]
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Asparagus- Spreading Tips
There are a few defects you should be looking for on asparagus, but spreading tips is the most common you will find. The U.S. Grade Standards require that asparagus spears must be fairly compact. Spreading tips could be caused by over-maturity, as the spears were harvested just past their prime. The USDA classifies this defect […]
Nectarines- San Jose Scale
Have you ever noticed these small, circular red spots on nectarines, peaches or apples? The defect is called “Scale” or “San Jose Scale” and is caused by an insect. When you come across this defect, you do not see the insect, but the effects caused by its feeding. The scale insect leaves this very distinguishable […]
Table Grapes- Weak at Capstems
When inspecting Table Grapes there are quite a few defects you should be on the look out for. The most serious defects are decay and split berries. Scarred berries and bunches weighing less than a quarter of a pound are very commonly found. But there are a few others; some commonly found and some you […]