Hello peislander-ga,
I live in California and love the start of strawberry season when I
can buy strawberries just picked from local fields. I?m glad you also
enjoy California strawberries in far off Prince Edward Island.
I thought it would be a very simple matter to get you the information
you need about how those strawberries get from our fields to your
table but I discovered that getting information about the timetable
for the shipping was tough. I found a lot of information that helped
me infer this timetable but it took a lot of digging to get a source
that confirmed the numbers I had come up with. In a nutshell, it takes
about a week for the strawberries to get from California growers to
PEI consumers when shipped by refrigerated trucks and considerably
less if flown in by air freight. The shelf life of strawberries about
10-14 days if they?re handled and kept cool. But of course, nothing
beats the freshness of the ?picked this morning? strawberries I can
get at local farm stands.
On the other hand, getting tons of information about how strawberries
are grown, harvested and prepared for shipment was fairly easy. I?ve
included lots of links, many of them with photos and graphic
illustrations, that will give you an excellent idea of why California
strawberries are so popular.
I hope you enjoy my research as much as you?re enjoying your strawberries.
~ czh ~
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STRAWBERRY PRODUCTION AND HARVESTING
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http://www.berries4u.com/index.htm
Manzanita Berry Farms was established in 1995 in Santa Maria, CA as an
exclusive producer of premier strawberries for Well-Pict, Inc.
***** The pages on Growing, Harvest and Marketing are most relevant to
your question but I suggest that you click through all the links just
to enjoy the beautiful photos that will help you get an excellent
understanding of how strawberries are grown and harvested.
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http://www.choicesmagazine.org/2004-1/2004-1-02_print.htm
http://www.agecon.ucdavis.edu/uploads/update_articles/v7n1_2.pdf
Adjusting to Technological Change in Strawberry Harvest Work
***** This four page paper gives you an excellent overview of how
strawberries are harvested. It includes photos that will help you
understand precisely how fresh strawberries start their journey from
field to table.
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http://www.calstrawberry.com/fileData/docs/Commodity_Fact_Sheet_2003.pdf
http://www.cfaitc.org/Commodity/pdf/strawberries.pdf
Strawberries ? How Produced
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http://usinfo.state.gov/eap/Archive_Index/In_the_Strawberry_Fields.html
In the Strawberry Fields
Excerpts from "Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the
American Black Market"
By Eric Schlosser
About the author: Eric Schlosser is a correspondent for the Atlantic
Monthly magazine and the author of the book entitled Fast Food Nation.
Chapter 2
***** This long excerpt provides detailed and graphic descriptions of
how strawberries are grown and harvested.
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STRAWBERRY SHIPPING, HANDLING, MERCHANDISING
============================================
http://pestdata.ncsu.edu/cropprofiles/docs/castrawberries.html
Crop Profile for Strawberries in California
Cultural Practices
Time :
Harvest Activity
Day 1 Harvest: Delivery to yard and cooling (1-4 hours).
Day 2-6 Shipping within the United States:
-- To Seattle - 1 day
-- To Denver - 2 days
-- To Chicago - 3 days
-- To New York/Boston - 4 days
Receiving dock to supermarket: 1 day
Day 2-6 Shipping outside the United States:
-- Canada - 3-5 days
-- Mexico - 3-5 days
-- Japan (air freight) - 1 day
***** This is an outstanding long article that covers just about
anything you might want to know about strawberry cultivation
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http://www.transfresh.com/rc_Article.asp?ArticleID=5
USDA Strawberry Recommendations
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
USDA Handbook 66 Handling Recommendations
Fresh strawberries are highly perishable and cannot be stored except
briefly. For maximum life, perhaps of 5-7 days, fruit should be
precooled immediately after harvest and placed at 0°C. The temperature
of harvested strawberries in the field can get up to 30°, and higher
when exposed to sun; and when fruits are allowed to remain at this
temperature for 4 hours, marketability drops by at least 40 percent
(634). Precooling of whole pallets by forced air is recommended
because the desired temperature (1°) can be obtained with 1 hour,
whereas air cooling takes 9 hours (790).
Refrigeration is sometimes supplemented with carbon dioxide gas from
dry ice to modify the atmosphere during transit or storage. In air
transport, pallets are covered with curtain coated fiberboard or
heat-shrink polyethylene to retain the high level of carbon dioxide
(366).
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http://www.transfresh.com/rc_Article.asp?ArticleID=6
Solving the Problem of In Transit Warming
Saturday, May 01, 2004
With daytime temperatures approaching 90F and higher in the Southern
part of the country, we are beginning to see pulp temperatures above
40F on arrival of fresh strawberries shipped from California to
Eastern markets.
***** This is an article that discusses the use of trailers in
transporting strawberries from California to the East coast.
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http://www.actahort.org/books/604/604_81.htm
QUALITY OF STRAWBERRIES AFTER STIMULATED AIR FREIGHT CONDITIONS
Abstract:
The fastest way to transport highly perishable horticultural crops
over long distances is air shipment. This rapid delivery is however
constrained by the fact that the optimal conditions required for fresh
fruits and vegetables are hardly ever maintained onboard the aircraft.
The temperature during flight can sometimes exceed 20°C and the cargo
holds are usually pressurized to 0.7 atm. The objective of this study
was to evaluate the impact of the low pressure usually encountered
during flight on the quality of fresh strawberries.
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http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AE136
Precooling Strawberries
***** This is a long and detailed technical article about how to
prepare strawberries for shipment.
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http://www.thepacker.com/rbcs/handbookarticles/properis.htm
Fresh Produce and Perishability
Freshly harvested fruits, vegetables and ornamentals are alive and
perishable. They carry on living processes (respiration, transpiration
and ripening) that cause them to deteriorate. These processes are
affected by various factors in the ambient atmosphere--temperature,
concentrations of water vapor, oxygen, carbon dioxide and
ethylene--physical damage, and the presence of decay causing
microorganisms.
***** This is a long scholarly article with ample illustrations that
discusses refrigerated shipping of strawberries and other produce.
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http://www.wga.com/public/active/siteBuilder/showPage.php?id=89&print=yes
How crop is produced
Strawberries are harvested carefully by hand and are not subject to
washing at the time of harvest. Harvested strawberries are placed in
trucks, within an hour or two of picking, which transport the
strawberries to a cooling facility. All strawberries are cooled,
usually within 1 to 4 hours after harvest. Strawberries are typically
forced-air cooled at temperatures of 34F. Cooling reduces decay and
prolongs the fruits shelf-life.
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http://www.pacificgoldfarms.com/strawberryOne.html
http://www.pacificgoldfarms.com/strawberryTwo.html#handling
Handling / Merchandising of Strawberries at Retail
Proper Handling checklist:
The following checklist should be followed upon every arrival of fresh
Pacific Gold Farms strawberries:
· Don?t break the cold chain
· Strawberries destined for retail distribution through a central
shipping warehouse must be kept cold until loads have reached their
final destination.
· Always remove Tectrol ? bags immediately upon arrival. Improper
handling of bagged pallets can result in off-flavor. Strawberries on
pallets that have been bagged and treated with carbon dioxide will
warm during transport as a result of their own respiration.
· Optimum temperature for strawberries is 32-34 degrees with high
humidity (90-95%)
· Remember, breakdown begins at 36 degrees and the general rule is
that for every hour that berries are kept at room temperature, they
lose a full days shelf life.
· Strawberries must not come in contact with moisture, misters, etc.
Moisture will cause rapid breakdown of the berry. Ethylene gas does
not affect strawberries.
· With proper cold chain management, strawberries can be displayed on
dry tables for maximum exposure and movement. Rapid turnover is the
best defense against shrink.
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STRAWBERRY EXPORTS TO CANADA
============================
http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/Pubs/strawberriesfinal1Sept02.pdf
Strawberry Production in the United States
***** See the section on Industry Structure for information about the
shipping of strawberries.
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http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200312/146085428.doc
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
Global Agriculture Information Network
Canada Strawberries Market Update 2003
***** This is a 10-page report that gives detailed information about
US strawberry exports to Canada.
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http://www.agmrc.org/agmrc/commodity/fruits/strawberries/commoditystrawberryprofile.htm
Commodity Strawberry Profile
The United States dominated the Canadian import market for fresh
strawberries by holding a 97 percent share (Foreign Agricultural
Service, USDA). Total fresh strawberry exports to Canada amounted to
$140 million in 2003.
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http://bae.engineering.ucdavis.edu/Research/postharvest.html
Postharvest Engineering
Transporting fresh produce can result in mechanical injury and quality
loss. The objectives of several current projects involving pears,
strawberries and grapes are to characterize the transit environment
and to determine fruit susceptibility to vibration of different
frequency and acceleration components. The results from recent studies
are leading to new packaging techniques and transit trailer design
which will improve the quality of the produce upon its arrival. For
example, a recently completed study on grapes indicates that the
practice of over filling boxes results in considerably more
compression damage and increased vibration amplifications in
palletized units. For both grapes and pears the study has shown that
packaging the fruit in polyethylene bags greatly reduces the vibration
injury. A different study of cross-country transit tests revealed that
the vibration level on the floor of an air-ride suspended trailer is
much lower than that of a convention-al steel suspended trailer. As a
consequence, it is now recommended that strawberries be transported in
air-ride trailers whenever possible and never at the rear of a steel
suspended trailer.
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http://www.dole5aday.com/ReferenceCenter/Encyclopedia/Strawberries/strawberry_harvested.jsp?topmenu=1
How Strawberries Are Grown and Harvested
Strawberries are picked at their peak of juicy freshness. All
strawberries are picked, sorted and packed by hand in the field. It is
considered an art to pick strawberries, since they are very fragile
and bruise easily. Within 30 minutes of picking, they are rushed to
cooling facilities. At the "Berry Cooler" the field heat is reduced by
forced air to cool the berries to 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Within 24
hours of harvest, strawberries are loaded on refrigerated trucks for
delivery to local supermarkets across the country. Keeping this highly
perishable fruit cool is critical if it is to reach consumers in
perfect condition.
The Camarosa variety was recently developed by the University of
California at Davis and is very adaptable to different growing areas
and has a 10 day shelf life when it is kept cold.
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http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3824/is_199909/ai_n8859570
Shipping fruits a better way
The Transfresh Corporation initiated research with different
atmospheres applied to pallets of strawberries that were enclosed in a
sealed plastic envelope. Gases could be injected into the plastic
enclosure and research trials revealed that elevated levels of carbon
dioxide helped control strawberry decay and allowed the California
strawberry industry to effectively ship their fruit to any location in
the U.S. via refrigerated trucks with greatly reduced shrinkage.
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STRAWBERRY INDUSTRY INFORMATION
===============================
http://www.calstrawberry.com
California Strawberry Commission
Strawberry Commission activities fall into three major areas:
overseeing and conducting agricultural research; promoting California
strawberries through marketing programs targeted toward consumers,
retailers, foodservice operators, export markets and industrial users;
and issues management.
***** This is an outstanding site for exploring the California
strawberry industry. The resources are useful for consumers, teachers,
retailers and anyone interesting in learning more about strawberries.
-------------------------------------------------
http://www.nal.usda.gov/pgdic/Strawberry/index.htm
http://www.nal.usda.gov/pgdic/Strawberry/ers/ers.htm
The U.S. Strawberry Industry
This report describes the U.S. strawberry industry from 1970 through
1993, and emphasizes changes since the early 1970's that have affected
the availability and prices of strawberries. Differences between
cultural practices and marketing seasons in the major producing
States--California, Florida, and Oregon--are emphasized. The most
detail is given about strawberry production in California.
Topics include where and how strawberries are grown in the United
States; the trends and seasonal patterns of shipments, stocks, and
prices; supplies and consumption of fresh and frozen strawberries; and
world production and trade of fresh and processed strawberries.
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