Inspection changes should keep customers satisfied

By Geraldine Warner

Changes in fruit inspection procedures in Washington State should help ensure that consumers aren't disappointed when they buy Washington Red Delicious apples, industry sources say.

If proposed rule changes go through, starting next season, Red Delicious apples shipped from regular storage will be subject to the same certification as apples from controlled atmosphere (CA) storage.

Ron Skagen, general manager of Wells & Wade Fruit Company, Wenatchee, Washington, and a member of the Grade and Pack Committee of the Washington State Horticultural Association, said these changes--along with a shortening of the CA qualifying period--should make a big difference to the quality of the apples shipped out of the state. Currently, fruit from regular storage is subject only to spot checks.

A bill was introduced into the Washington State legislature this session that would reduce the certification period for Red and Golden Delicious apples from 90 days to 60 days. Research has shown that apples benefit from being held in CA storage, rather than regular storage, even for a short period of time. If the change goes through, packers will be able to sell certified CA fruit during the Christmas period, and it should have better internal quality than if it had been stored in a regular atmosphere. Skagen said competition between packers and the chance of earning a slightly higher return for CA fruit will be incentives for warehouses to put more fruit into CA.

Not all certified

Currently, however, not all apples from CA storage are shipped as certified CA fruit. In the Wenatchee district, about 40% of the apple crop is shipped as regular storage fruit, which is subject to a less stringent and cheaper inspection program. In Yakima, less than 20% of the apples are shipped as regular storage.

Assuming the inspection changes are approved by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, warehouses will no longer have much to gain from shipping CA fruit as regular storage because all Red Delicious will be inspected the same, and there will be a requirement to reinspect regular storage apples not shipped within 21 days to make sure they still meet the 12-pound minimum firmness rule. Already, CA fruit must be reinspected after 14 days.

"If you poll warehouses, you'll find they believe that's significant because there's a lot of fruit that goes out the door that's not been looked at within three weeks," Skagen said. "It's going to dynamically change the competitive forces in the warehouse. The net result is the consumer will get better apples. No question in my mind."

Bob Mathison at Stemilt Growers, Inc., Wenatchee, said he believes the requirement to reinspect regular storage fruit after 21 days would have the greatest impact, if it is enforced.

Scott Smith at Smith & Nelson, Tonasket, who is co-chair of the Washington State Horticultural Association's Grade and Pack Committee, said that fruit does not hold up as well after packing as it does before. Often, fruit that comes out of storage looks good when it is packed, but is much weaker one or two weeks later. The Grade and Pack Committee considered requiring on-dock inspections for all fruit shipped, but concluded it was not feasible because of the large volume of apples the state produces.

Compliance sheet

When fruit is loaded into a truck, the packer signs a compliance sheet stating that the fruit meets all the standards. The inspection service will have certified CA and export fruit, but does only spot checks of regular storage fruit. Under the new regulations, samples of all fruit shipped will have been officially inspected before the compliance sheet is signed.

"They all will have been checked, and that takes the responsibility out of the hands of the packer," Smith said. "He's still signing the compliance sheet saying this meets regulations, but it's also been inspected."

Smith agreed that the change in the CA qualifying period is also likely to have a positive impact during the regular storage season. Marketing forces will encourage packers to put more fruit into CA, which should enhance the quality. He said the changes will encourage warehouses to tell growers their fruit must meet the standards and will be inspected.

"Any one of these single items is going to help somewhat, but we hope, as a whole, they will move toward stronger fruit," he said. "All of these actions together--60-day CA, inspections of Reds all year long, and increased dock inspections--will, I believe, improve the quality of Red Delicious for the consumer."

Mark Tudor of Grandview, co-chair of the Grade and Pack Committee, said he believes the changes would help make the industry overall--from the grower to the packer--more cognizant of the need to produce quality fruit and to keep the poorer quality fruit out of the marketplace. *

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Inspection changes should keep customers satisfied

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