Europe: Quality of produce below standards
“In pepper bells I saw a big distinction between the large- and small-sized peppers. If the large-sized bell peppers had less bumps, they would still be good. In the small-sized bell peppers there was too much class II fruit with rot and open lesions. It would be better if these defects were rejected at once. Eggplants looked in quality still good but were too often marred by a rotten stalk. I cannot tell how old the products were when I inspected them. It is important that no one holds on to them even for one day.
Of the cucumbers I have seen only one party looked very nice. Most parties were heterogeneous in color and shape and contained too many class II fruits, not a great final sprint. Only the tomatoes were of good quality. I did hear about some split fruits, but I have not seen them myself. As far as you are still able, my message is: sort out damaged fruits, no matter how small, and nurture class II fruits. Let's keep the quality levels up until the end!”
By : Peter Damen, Quality specialist KCB