APPLE QUALITY – PREDICTION, CONTROL AND ASSURANCE: SYSTEM VALIDATION

In Israel, a lot of fresh harvested produce arriving at the packinghouse is associated with a grower and carries the grower’s identification. This identification is maintained throughout storage until final packaging for marketing (Prigojin et al., 1993). A quality sampling system was incorporated as part of the receiving process. During two seasons, samples were taken to determine sampling procedure, such as the sampling frequency and size, distribution within and among shipments, etc. Sample size recommendations were determined, and the organization of plots was revised, based on quality diversion per grower (Prigojin et al., 1988).

The packinghouse long-range goals were the following: quick feedback, more accurate down payments to the growers; purchasing fruit as it enters the packinghouse, so that growers do not have to bear quality reduction during storage; and to facilitate storage scheduling by arranging according to marketing needs.

The objective of the work was to develop system validity for prediction and assurance of apple fruit quality, comparing two sorting systems used in packinghouses in Israel.