The movement of apples from the tree to the store offers ample opportunities for 
mechanical injury. Schomer* has reported on methods to minimize bruising in the or- 
chard and in the warehouse. While mechanized packaging will cause some damage to the 
fruit, proper management and supervision can easily contain the injury within tolerable 
limits, as Evans and Marsh” found in some Appalachian apple packinghouses. In the 
present study, considerable additional damage was done in trucking the fruit to retail 
stores. The loading of apples with sundry other food items in delivery trucks could have 
been a factor. Standing the bags upright in master containers could be another; Perkins? 
reported a reduction of bruise damage in an apple shipping test with bags lying on their 
sides. Brunk and Dominick* found bruising, for the most part, to be negligible in 
McIntosh apples that growers delivered, in bulk, directly to retail stores. 
In the retail stores, the mechanical damage already present in apples was aggra- 
vated by handling of the fruit by shoppers in self-service departments. A display of ob- 
viously good quality fruit should be a logical way of obviating unnecessary handling. Un- 
fortunately, no amount of restraint on the part of the shopper can negate the damage that 
is already present in the fruit when it arrives at the store. Bruises and punctures were 
found to be the principal defects of McIntosh apples in a recent survey of retail stores in 
Massachusetts.” In the study on which this report is based, the mechanical injury 
present in the apples at the retail level was damaging enough to discourage sales and 
subsequently to result in an undetermined amount of waste. 
While the polyethylene bag is an inexpensive and convenient container, it provides 
apples little protection against bruising. The restriction of movement of apples against 
each other in packages, including packages for consumers, would result in fewer stem 
punctures. The protection of apples against mechanical injury through the use of molded 
pulpboard trays or cell inserts in consumer packages has been demonstrated.® Further- 
more, such protective measures should reduce the decay that can be expected to follow 
if apples purchased by customers are not utilized promptly. However, the practicability 
of any protective measure depends largely upon economic considerations that lie outside 
the scope of this report. 
1 Schomer, H. A. Bruising of Apples; Where Does It Occur and How Can It Be Minimized? Proc. Wash, State Hort. 
Assoc. 53: 129-131. 1957. 
2 Evans, H, C., and Marsh, R. S. Costs and Mechanical Injury in Handling and Packing Apples. W. Va. Agr. Expt. Sta. 
Bul. 416, 26 pp. 1958. 
3 Perkins, F, A. Discovers Improved Method of Shipping Polypacked Apples. N. J. Agr. 42 (6): 3-5. 1960. 
4 Brunk, M. E., and Dominick, B. A., Jr. Experiments Show What Makes Your Apples Sell. Proc. 96th Ann. Mtg. N, Y. 
State Hort. Soc, 1951. 
5 Roberts, O. C., Causes and Effects of Mechanical Injuries to McIntosh Apples, Mass. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bul. 520. 39 pp. 
(undated, ) 
6 Perkins, F. A., and Underwood, J. W. Improved Consumer Packages for Maine McIntosh Apples. Maine Agr. Expt. 
Sta. Bul. 591, 21 pp. 1960. 
