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UNITED STATES

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LIBRARY

Book NUMBER

St6

,r ITLb biAb.;j Db?A-.TM:bb ul AQ.'ICULAU;..!; Agriculairal viarketing Service '/ifashingtor 25^ b. C.

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By Donald R. Stokes, ''arketing Research Division, ki-S, USDA, for nresentation at the American lianagement Association Packaging Conference, Palmer House, Chicago, 111., .^pril 19j 19i?5

packaging of fresh fruits and vegetables in consumer packages began quite a fe'-'' years ago, but it still has a long ^-Tay to go. Only about 20 percent of our fresh fruits and vegetables are narketed today in consumer packages.

Approximately 56 billion pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables are marketed annually. Soi^e of these commodities may never be packaged in consumer units; for example, ’f*atermelons, cantaloupes, and pumpkins. But about 50 billion ■pounds of produce conceivably could be so packaged eventually. About 11 bil- lion pounds are being packaged in unit containers today.

Tie follo^-Ting table lists about 100 fresh fruits and vegetables and the 5-year (l9li8-53) average annual supply of each commodity.^' In the third column of this table, you ’-fill find our estimate of the percentage of each commodity "•■'hich is being packaged today before reaching the retail store. These estimates are based on general observation and are not provable. They are, ho^-fever, about as close to accuracy as is possible on the basis of available information.

l/ Guide to Average -'ionthly Availability of 102 Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, Third Revised Edition - 195Uj United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable /ssociation, Tashington, D. C. These estimates represent quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables marketed through commercial channels, including imported produce but excluding the quantities sold at roadside stands and processed or frozen.

Agr icul tur e - Jashington

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Pstimated percentage of fresh fruits and vegetables Prepackaged

Commodity	Annual supply ; 1,000,000 lbs. ;	Percent prepackaged prior to retail level l/
Anise	19
Apples	3,790	25
Apricots
Artichokes	32
Asparagus	127	5
Avocados	70
Bananas		1
Beans , i'ava	11
Beans , Lima	32
Beans, Snap	555	5
Beets	127	20
Beet tops		90
Blackberries	5	100
Blueberries	39	100
Borage ( Barrach )
Broccoli	166	5
Broccoli rabe -'i-
Brussels sprouts	27	75
Cabbage	T7B30
Cabbage sprouts	C
Cantaloupes
Carrots	T77U9	80
Casabas	1
Cauliflof’Ter	^00	5
Celeriac	2
Celery	1,192	10
Celery cabbage	18
Cherries	111	5
Chicoria
Chives
Cippolinis	1
Coconuts	35
Collards		5
Corn	1,113
Cranberries	78	100
CrenshaT.^s	6
Cucumbers	5Ho
Currants
Dandelions
Dasheens	.7
Dates (Domestic)	_ . _32

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estimated percentage of fresh fruits and vegetables prepackaged (Continued)

Commodity	. Annual supply ; 1,000,000' lbs.	; Percent t prepackaged prior : to retail level 1/
Eggplant	6h
Endive chicory	32	5
Endive ■''Titloof	1
Escarole	130	5
Figs	5
Garlic	32	90
Grapefruit	17^55	10
Grapes	1,200	3
Hanover salad
fioney balls	1
HoneydevTS	250
Horseradish	7
^ale	32	7^
Kohlrabi	9
Kumquats	.1
Leeks	19
Lemons	5oo	15
Lettuce	2,700	5
times	16	5
Mangos	n —
'•ushrooms	57	50
Mustard greens	21	25
nectarines	30
Gkra	20
Onions , dry	ITFto	20
Onions, green	39	5
Oranges	U,260	20
Papayas	1
Parsley	36	1
Parsnips	3U	2^
Peaches	I7H95
Pears	732
Peas, green	80
Peas, pigeon
Peppers, sweet	3C0
Persians	^ —
Persimmons	5 —
Pineapples	96
Plantains	15

Pliuns- prunes 238 ^

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Estimated percentage of fresh fruits and vegetables prepackaged (Continued)

Commodity	Annual supply ; 1,000,000 lbs.	. Percent : prepackaged prior : T.O retail level l/
Pomegranates
Potatoes	1R,920	35
Prickly pears
Pumpkins	10
Kadishes	162	50
Raspberries	2	100
khubarb	35
Shallots	16
Sorrel	'f
Spinach	3U3	75
Squash	m —	1
StraT-rberries	375	100
S-^-Teetpotatoes	B90	1
ST.Tis5 chard	15
i'angerines	2BI
Tomatoes	3,866	60
Turnips-rutabagas	2iB	2^
Turnip tops	5	10
P'atercress	5
Watermelons	2,210
Yams	2

-5- Quantity undertain.

1/ Where the column is left blank, the amount prepackaged is unknown.

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A commodities are just about 100 percent packaged in consumer units.

These include cranberries and the various fresh berry crops, such as rasp- berries, strawberries, and blueberries. In addition, there are such items as cole slaw^ mixed salads, and soup mixes which are 100 percent prepackaged. The next highest group, percentagewise, consists of items which are 75 to 80 percent packaged, and includes carrots, brussels sprouts, kale, and spinach.

Going dof'Ui the list, you will find corresponding estimates for some other commodities, as follows:

Mushrooms 50 percent

Radishes 50

Tomatoes 60 "

Potatoes 35 "

Turnips 25 ”

Parsnips 25 "

Apples 25 "

Potatoes, of course, lead all other commodities in terms of actual pounds prepackaged. There is opportunity for continued expansion of consumer packag- ing of fresh fruits and vegetables, ’"ays may be found to package a number of commodities ^’hich are not now being prepackaged to any extent, and the extent of packaging many commodities such as potatoes, apples, and citrus fruits is likely to expand,

Hof-^ever, we still have packaging problems confronting us on coirmodities which are apparently quite successfully prepackaged. Take carrots, for example — more than 80 percent of fresh carrots are prepackaged today, yet, in some stores, patrons reportedly prefer bunched carrots. Consumer confidence in packaged carrots, as in the case of tomatoes and other vegetables, needs to be maintained by careful quality control. The color, amount, and kind of printing on the package also are important.

The prepackaging of lettuce is only gradually developing. Over 100,000 car- loads of lettuce are marketed annually. Yet only a small fraction is packaged either at shipping point or in the terminal markets, although prepackaging of lettuce at retail is expanding. This packaging reduces waste and spoilage losses and helps keep the lettuce crisp and succulent, which should promote greater sales of lettuce.

Great opportunities lie ahead for prepackaging of other vegetables. Consider- able research has been undertaken on packaging fresh asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, and green beans, yet only a small voliime of these items is prepackaged today. Proper packaging of asparagus preserves flavor and tender- ness. Proper packaging of broccoli keeps it fresh, retards yellow-ring, and, coupled w.Tith adequate refrigeration, greatly extends its shelf life and sala- bility. Celery is kept moist and crisp by good packaging, yet, in general, only celery hearts are packaged today. Packaged cut green beans, trimmed for

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immediate cooking by the house-f-Tife, may develop a large potential market.

The market for prepackaged peeled potatoes could be tremendous, considering the fact that this commodity is one of the chief kitchen bottlenecks still confronting the American houseT-Tife,

T'^uch of the physiological research has been completed on the packaging of these commodities. Assistance by packaging manufacturers and suppliers in . building or adanting packaging machinery and in designing packages for par- ticular products is needed to help gror-rers, shippers, and distributors in prepackaging many of these commodities. The packaging industry has assisted the Department of Agriculture and producers and distributors of fresh fruits and vegetables in finding and developing efficient vays of applying research results commercially.

Relatively, a smaller proportion of fresh fruits are packaged in consumer units than of vegetabl s. Apples are commonly prepackaged in various types of bags, cartons, and trays, but it is doubtful that more than 25 percent of the apple crop is packaged in consumer containers. A study of packaging of apples at point of production in film bags initiated by the Department of Agriculture several years ago in the NorthT-Test, under a research contract T-Tith the Washington State Apple Advertising Commission. Wany of the film manufacturers and converters cooperated closely on that project, and today packers in various apple-producing areas are packaging apples in 3-, and 5-pound bags. Yet this packaging of apples is confined mostly to the small sizes. Large apples and soft fruits, such as apricots, need protective packaging to reduce handling damage, and these packages should be designed to add to the salability and appearance of the fruit,

L'e often find that packaging of fresh fruits in unit containers increases the cost of marketing, '■'''e should attempt to find offsetting savings, which frequently is not difficult.

Take fresh plums, for example, ’'•■^hich are usually packed in U-basket crates.

It may be possible to jumble-pack plums in a much cheaper shipping container and again repack them at the point of distribution in some type of consumer package, Service ^>Tholesalers might be able to buy jumble -packed plums and repack them in consumer-size packages before distributing them to their retail customers. The savings in the use of cheaper shipping containers, along ^-^ith additional savings in labor and spoilage losses in retail stores, might T-rell compensate for the additional cost of the consumer packages. Then, too, service wholesalers are in a good position to give strong merchandising and sales promotion support to such prepackaged commodities, particularly if the products are merchandised under the whole-sa] ers ' avm brand names.

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''/e have been cooperating ’’ith the packaging industry in developing improved shipping containers for Bartlett and ■'■winter pears, -^s you kno^’T, winter pears are harvested in the fall and packed in standard wood boxes. % the time you see these pears in the retail stores, in a jumble display, they are some- times badly bruised and marked up from repeated handlings, or so hard and green that they discourage sales, '-'e are attempting to develop improved shipping containers which will minimize bruising damage and increase the sala- bility of the pears, he also are cooperating ^n.th the packaging industry to find out whether pears can be packaged in consumer packages. Pears should be ripened before being offered for sale to consumers, and ripened pears should not be handled. Protective packaging may help solve this problem.

Peaches provide another example of a commodity on which there is a tremendous need for further research and for the development of improved packages and methods of packaging. As you know, peaches ripen very rapidly once they reach maturity. Therefore, if ripened peaches are to be prepackaged, a package and method of packaging them will need to be developed which will be fast and economical.

In conclusion, it seems inevitable that the trend toward more prepackaging of more fruits and vegetables t-uH continue. The basic advantages of packaging fruits and vegetables in unit containers are to (l) offer additional services, (2) increase the efficiency of handling, (3) maintain or improve the quality of product, and (i^) promote greater sales. Consumer packaging permits brand identification, which is the first requirement of an effective merchandising program, ^-e welcome the continued cooperation of the packaging industry in helping gro-^ers and distributors of fresh fruits and vegetables to improve the packaging of their products.