TABLE 1. BRUISING OF APPLES, PACKED IN TRAYS OR POLY BAGS, 

 FOLLOWING A SINGLE DROP OF A CARTON. 



DAMAGE TO FRUIT 



Sq . cm . 



Packing Height „ -.^ !J°-.°^ of bruised %with 



variable o£ d?op t ^^^^ bruises area per cuts or 



^ bruises per apple apple punctures 



CARTONS CONTAINING TRAYS 



Type of Tray 



Fiber 6" 64 0.9 62 



Foam 6" 52 0.7 42 



Fiber 12" 70 1.0 116 



Foam 12" 54 0.7 54 



BAG-MASTER CARTONS 



No. of Cells 



12 6" 68 1.1 109 2.9 



4 6" 69 1.2 127 2.2 



12 12" 77 1.4 223 3.5 



4 12" 80 1.5 240 4.0 



The results dramatically demonstrate the potential for damage to 

 fruit after packing. A single 6 -inch drop of a carton (measure it!) 

 bruised over 50^ of the fruit . Apples packed in foam trays bruised 

 less than those packed in either fiber trays or poly bags. Apples 

 packed in poly bags, rather than in trays, received more bruises 

 from the drop, and these bruises were much larger than those on 

 tray-packed fruit. In addition, the apples in poly bags received 

 cuts and punctures from the drop, even the one from only a 6- inch 

 height. 



Interestingly, the 12-inch drop was not much worse on the 

 fruit than the 6-inch drop. Also, it made little difference 

 whether the poly bags were packed in 4-cell or 12-cell cartons. 



In another series of tests. Golden Delicious apples in either 

 fiber or foam trays were packed in a number of different ways to 

 find out more about what influences bruising. In these tests, the 

 cartons of apples taken directly out of cold storage were all 

 dropped once from a 12-inch height. 



