QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



ON 



GOVERNMENT INSPECTION OF PROCESSED 

 FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 



By F. L. Southerland, chief, and Elinore T. Linderer, marketing specialist, 

 Standardization and Inspection Division, Fruit and Vegetable Branch, Produc- 

 tion and Marketing Administration 



WHY GOVERNMENT INSPECTION? 



The warehousing, financing, and marketing of processed fruits and 

 vegetables involve transactions amounting to millions of dollars every 

 year. Huge loans are frequently supported by official certificates indi- 

 cating the quality of the foods covered by warehouse receipts. Millions 

 of dozens of containers and packages of processed foods are sold annu- 

 ally on the basis of quality — quality either stated or implied. More 

 and more fruit and vegetable containers are indicating the quality of 

 these foods in order to assist the consumer in making a selection. 



A need for officially determining and certifying the quality and con- 

 dition of these foods was recognized. Out of it grew the standardiza- 

 tion and inspection service for processed fruits and vegetables and 

 related products as now conducted by the Production and Marketing 

 Administration of the United States Department of Agriculture. 



What are processed products? 



Processed products are those commodities that have been subjected 

 to special treatment in order to preserve them under the proper condi- 

 tions. Processed fruits and vegetables include products that are 

 canned, frozen, dried, or dehydrated. Related items such as peanut 

 butter, fruit jams or preserves, pickles, and honey are also included 

 under the term "processed products." Canned fruits and vegetables 

 include commodities that are packed in glass jars or bottles as well 

 as those packed in metal containers. Frozen products include foods 

 preserved by various freezing methods, commercially known as cold- 

 packed and quick frozen. Dried products are generally fruits from 

 which moisture has been removed by evaporation, either by sun-drying 

 or by artificial heat. Dehydrated products, as commercially recog- 

 nized, generally contain much less moisture than dried products ; this 

 is accomplished by more controlled conditions of temperature, humid- 

 ity, and air flow. 



What is an official determination and certification of quality? 



An official determination of quality includes the technical results, 

 mechanical results, and experienced judgment of an official inspector, 

 who is employed by the Federal Government. The results of official 

 inspections are entered upon a certificate form of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture and signed by the inspector. 



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