34 



CIRCULAR 659, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



the retailer could offer for sale as a consumer unit. In addition to 

 those mentioned, various paper boxes, overwrapped trays or boats, 

 mesh bags, and bags made of transparent films have been used (figs. 

 19 and 20). As the smaller 2- to 5-pound units are usually shipped 

 in master containers without excessive closure pressure, the apples so 

 packed reach the retail store with fewer bruises than those packed and 

 shipped in ordinary containers. 



Apples to be prepackaged must be sound when packed and not sub- 

 ject to such disorders as rots, soft scald, bitter pit, breakdown, or scald 

 during transit and market distribution. This is very demanding. Scald, 

 for instance, may make it impossible to pack certain varieties within 2 

 months after harvest or necessitate packing them in oiled paper at the 

 time of harvest. Apples become increasingly susceptible to rot invasions 

 as the storage season progresses. Hence safeguards against decay in- 

 vasions must continuously be intensified when prepackaging during 

 the winter. 



Figure 19. — A 5-pound carton of York Imperial apples packed for the consumer in a 



Virginia packing house. 



The package must adequately display the apples or the consumer will 

 select fruits from bulk displays. Net mesh bags may make an imprint 

 on soft ^varieties. Film packages should be perforated, or at least not 

 completely sealed, so that apples will not develop undesirable flavors 

 because of lack of oxygen. Each package must contain more than the 

 stated net weight when packed to allow for shrinkage during distribu- 



