Effect of Consumer Packaging on Quality 
The main values that may accrue from prepackaging apples, in regard to 
quality maintenance, are protection from moisture loss and prevention of mechan- 
ical damage (38, 74). Godwin (32, 33) in an early study on marketing film- 
packaged apples found that spoilage was the main source of loss in packages. 
Sherman, Sharp, and Mitchell (77) reported that spoilage losses during marketing 
were very low for packaged apples in 3-, 4-, 5-, 8-, and 10-pound bags. There 
was usually less waste in prepackaged apples than in bulk. Ritter and Thomas 
(68) found that Stayman and Rome Beauty apples could be prepackaged in poly- 
ethylene bags at harvest, and still be as acceptable as conventionally stored 
fruit after 10 weeks at 35° F. Their data indicated that flavor and texture of 
these two varieties in perforated bags and in bulk were essentially similar 
; after 2, 6, 8, and 10 weeks' storage. 
Prevention of mechanical injuries is one value of a good consumer pack- 
age for apples (15, 16, 28, 42, 50, 51, 52, 61, 62, 63, 69). Perkins (61, 62) 
and Ceponis and Kaufman (16) noted that polyethylene bags did not give good 
protection from bruising to soft-fleshed McIntosh apples. Perkins (61) and 
Nyhlen (57) found that less damage occurred during shipment in master containers 
if the film bags were packed horizontally rather than vertically. Damage in 
bags in the vertical position increased with the depth of the apples. Ceponis, 
Kaufman, and Ringel (15) surveyed the quality of prepackaged McIntosh apples in 
New York City retail stores, Punctures by stems and bruising were the most 
serious defects, and they increased at each step during marketing. The conse- 
quence of the bruising and punctures was decay, often within 1 week at 70° F. 
after apples were prepackaged. 
While bruising has often been serious in jumble-packed polyethylene 
bags, it usually has been less than for apples marketed in bulk displays. 
Merchant and coworkers (51, 52) reported less bruising of McIntosh apples pre- 
packaged in polyethylene bags and in carryout chipboard cartons than when dis- 
played in bulk. Bruising in consumer bags was reduced by using chipboard 
dividers or cell-partition inserts to separate the apples. The use of shrink- 
able films to immobilize apples within a tray reduced damage in marketing still 
further, as mentioned earlier (28). Merchant et al. (52) showed that apples in 
consumer bags in the bottom layer of master containers showed more bruising than 
those in the other two layers. 
Consumer packaging is not a substitute for refrigeration. Hauck (40) 
and Avall (6) showed that prepackaging plus refrigeration produced results much 
better than either alone. Prepackaged Rome Beauty apples had a shelf life of 
20 days on a nonrefrigerated counter averaging 73° F. On a refrigerated counter 
averaging 47°, the shelf life was 31 days (40). Schomer (73, 74) also stressed 
the value of refrigeration for quality maintenance of packaged produce. He 
noted that refrigeration was usually more important than choice of film for 
prepackaging in preventing deterioration. Quality retention in consumer- 
packaged apples was progressively better with lowering of storage temperatures 
Foro stool « 
Roberts (69) noted that refrigeration of prepackaged apples was desirable 
during marketing, particularly during retail display, if apples were to reach 
customers in good condition. Havas, Henderson, Parsons, and Schaffer (42) re- 
ported that the type of consumer package did not affect the keeping quality 
markedly, if apples were displayed under refrigeration. Weight losses and decay 
were greater when apples were displayed without refrigeration than they were 
42 
