SPOILAGE OF FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 3 



The inspectors were well trained, and all bad previous experience 

 in inspecting fruits and vegetables at various shipping points. The 

 writers served as consultants to the inspectors, assisted in training 

 them to recognize the diseases more commonly found, and from time 

 to time identified specimens of the more unusual decays. The data, 

 although not collected by trained pathologists, are considered depend- 

 able as to percentages of spoilage involved and the identification of 

 the common decays. 



All inspections were on rail shipments and almost wholly on entire 

 carlots. They were made while the cars were being unloaded or 

 within a few hours thereafter. In accordance with the usage of the 

 Market News Division, 8 Fruit and Vegetable Branch, Production 

 and Marketing Administration, the term "unloads" designates car- 

 lots that were actually unloaded in contrast with those that were 

 received but that might later have been either unloaded or diverted 

 to other markets. For convenience in comparing truck and boat 

 shipments with rail shipments the term "carlot" is used throughout 

 the circular. However, for truck and boat shipments the term ac- 

 tually refers to carlot equivalents, that is, to the number of packages 

 of a given commodity equal to that which ordinarily constitutes a 

 rail carlot of it. 



Statements regarding the number of carlots unloaded and their 

 distribution by method of shipment to the market are based on in- 

 formation contained in the mimeographed summaries of unloads at 

 New York City that are issued annually by the Market News Di- 

 vision. 



Abstracting of Certificates 



Carbon copies of the inspection certificates were on file at New 

 York City. A group of 12 Works Projects Administration workers 

 employed for 12 weeks sorted these and abstracted from them the 

 information needed in the study. 



The certificates issued during a given year were first sorted by 

 commodities. Those for each commodity were then separated by 

 month of issue and those for each month were summarized on a single 

 sheet. The data were finally assembled in commodity tables covering 

 the entire period. 



Only data relating to the type of decay or other kinds of spoilage 

 and the average percentage of the commodity therewith affected were 

 taken from the certificates. When only one decay percentage was 

 given on a certificate but more than one type of decay was listed, it 

 was assumed that the several types were of equal importance. Con- 

 sequently, whenever possible the decay percentage was divided 

 equally between them provided only whole numbers were used. 

 When equal division was impossible, greater weight was given to the 

 decay mentioned first. Thus, for example, if a carlot of Honey Dew 

 melons was reported to have 5 percent decay designated as clado- 

 sporium rot and fusarium rot, the decay is allocated herein as 3 

 percent of the former and 2 percent of the latter. Or again, if a 

 carload of grapes was reported to have 7 percent decay — gray mold 



Formerly the Market News Service. 



