The defect scoring of green onions, especially identifying discolored tops from decayed tops may get a little confusing, even for experienced inspectors. With the green onions being packed in ice, to ensure their freshness, a side effect is the watersoaked and glassy appearance caused by the melting ice. These watersoaked tops will sometimes be scored […]
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The one thing I have always loved about the fresh produce industry is the unexpected. During a recent training class, where I had opened the session up to questions of all kind, I was asked if new top growth was a defect for topped carrots. Not wanting to guess I opened up the USDA Inspection Instructions […]
When inspecting peaches, or any stone fruit, there are a few defects you should always be on the look out for. Decayed spots, soft areas from being overripe, and bruising. Bruising is the most common defect found on peaches, and peaches packed in volume-filled containers have a better chance of becoming bruised than tray pack […]
For those of us living on the east coast this has been an extremely wet, rainy season. The rain kept coming over and over and it has prevented many growers from applying fungicides to their tomato plants. This problem was amplified this year due to the fact that many nurseries selling tomato transplants had their plants affected […]
Some years are worse than others for hollow heart. This year appears to be one of those years. Hollow heart in watermelons is caused by a quick growth burst, usually brought on by heavy rainfall. Hollow heart is usually found in the larger melons, but it may be found in the smaller sizes as well. […]
When inspecting sweet corn, you are first checking for the freshness of the corn by examining the color and freshness of the husks. You then begin to inspect the corn by husking the corn looking for defects of the cob. A defect, that unfortunately is all too common, is worm damage. Although worm damage is […]
I recently received a question from one of my past class participants. (In fact I encourage all past students to feel free to use me as a reference; if I don’t know the answer I will do my best to find out the answer.) They were receiving cucumbers that were unusually bumpy or warty. The questions was if this would […]
A few of my posts have taken issue with the USDA not being specific, as to scoring guidelines, to ensure uniformity, for many defects. Whether the defect is considered damage or not a defect is left up to the judgement of the individual inspector. The defect sunburn, on tomatoes, may go the other way. When […]
One of the most common defects of oranges is the defect called skin breakdown. This defect is caused by many different factors, including age, coloring, chilling injury, bruising, or any time the orange may lose some if its moisture and begins, resulting in sunken pitted areas. Skin breakdown may be found anywhere on the fruit’s […]
You may have come across this defect in some of your recent shipments of nectarines. When most people see this defect they want to assume it is characteristic of the variety, or possibly from spray burn due to some kind of orchard spray. Although it is true this whitish discoloration occurs in the orchard, it is not caused […]