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 […]
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 […]
When inspecting kiwifruit you will usually only encounter a few defects. Some of the common defects you may find are: shriveling, bruising, soft and decay. If the kiwi has been in storage you may also come across kiwi which has sunken areas or pitted areas. This is due to moisture loss of the fruit. You can see […]
On April 10th, all seedless grapes being imported into the United States from Chile will have to meet U.S. Import Requirements. What exactly does this mean? The United States has import requirements that are effective on April 10th of each year. These import requirements offer protection for California grape growers from having competing countries export below quality grapes into the […]
Take a look at this picture below, of Romaine, and see if you can identify the three defects circled. Defect #1 is Downy Mildew, Defect #2 is Marginal Discoloration, and Defect #3 is Bruising. Now if you found this leaf on a plant of romaine, would the plant be considered a defect? If you reviewed the […]
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, […]
One of the easiest defects to identify on onions, are visible sprouts. As the onion comes out of dormancy, it begins to grow, or develop a sprout. These fresh, light green to green sprouts are always a defect, and could very well be a serious damage defect. The scoring guidelines are fairly straight-forward. If you […]
A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from a major chain asking me to post an article about the proper sampling procedures for Romaine Hearts. They were concerned because they were finding the USDA inspectors were not being consistent, from DC to DC. For example, some USDA inspectors were inspecting the entire carton of […]
You most likely have been receiving grapes, apples, pears, plums and peaches from Chile. Much of the fruit is shipped immediately to distribution centers while some of the fruit is placed in cold storage. One defect you may see, especially from plums that may have been in cold storage is shriveling. The shriveling will most […]
The other day I received an interesting question concerning the net weight of a pint of strawberries. After consulting with the Department of Weights and Measures I was able to give an educated response. For those commodities designated by dry measurements, pints, bushels, etc. there is no net weight equivalent. For example, you may receive […]