Winter term 2003 a student posted a question about the quality of poduce used for processed fruits and vegetables, so I did some research. I first looked at Norpac, a company that processes just up the freeway from Lane County. Their website (http://www.norpac.com) says

"The story begins in 1924, when an Oregon cooperative of growers formed North Pacific Canners and Packers, and introduced the FLAV-R-PAC® brand that would become the quality standard for vegetables and fruits. Two decades later, the company's grower-owners led the way in developing America's newest food processing technology by installing a quick-freezing unit. By the 1950's, NORPAC frozen and canned products were available across America.

...Starting with specially developed seeds, our 250 grower-owner families raise a vast array of crops on thousands of acres in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. Carefully controlling each step in the process, NORPAC products now go from harvest in the field, through processing and freezing, to packaging in one of five state-of-the-art processing plants - all in less than 4 hours!"

The following is an e-mail I received from NORPAC Foods.

From: consumeraffairs@norpacfoodsales.com

To: Beth Naylor, February 19, 2003

Re: quality of produce used for processing

Frozen products packed under NORPAC's retail brands of FLAV-R-PAC and WESTPAC or canned products under NORPAC's Santiam brand are grade A, premium quality using USDA standards.

Produce of other grades can be specified and used by food manufacturers in products which may not require a certain size, color, or other attributes.

All produce, from any grower, is graded according to specifications standard to the industry and in accordance with the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Grading is a very interesting subject and if your class would like a more in-depth explanation about grading and the attributes required for any grade, that information is available from the website for the Department of Agriculture.

The agricultural business is very complex. Acreage is contracted and intended for specified uses before planting even begins (note from Beth- this means that if a grower contracts with NORPAC, produce from ALL of that contracted acreage can be sold ONLY to NORPAC). The growers in the NORPAC cooperative plant contracted acreage specifically for our frozen and canned products. The acreage allotment and tonnage expected are carefully monitored. Other organizations such as Harry and David or other premium food dealers or manufacturers would also contract with growers specifically for their requirements.

Throughout the U.S. and other countries, one can find growers who specialize in certain areas of the business. There are growers, for instance, who grow primarily for the fresh market and others who grow primarily for the export market, or the organic market, etc. Factors that influence their specialties are location, soil, growing season length and time of the year, market demands, marketing capabilities, etc. One can also find produce grown specifically for certain markets such as fresh or frozen, or the specialty/gift market. One example of this could be a variety of strawberry developed and grown for the frozen market because of its color and ability to retain its shape after the freezing and thawing process. Or, in the case of specialty products, plants and trees are pruned to produce a limited crop with specified characteristics or attributes.

Here's what a student said in this class one term:

"I worked several summers in a cannery so I saw first hand how they handled the produce. Not all of the produce is processed at it's 'peak", and during the peak of the season there is so much produce that it often takes a long time to process. And while it's waiting to be processed? It will often sit out in the heat."