quality of fruit used for processing

http://www.ams.usda.gov/fv/ppb.html

The Processed Products Branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service offers

product certification services for canned, frozen, and dehydrated fruits, vegetables, and related products. These services can

be tailored to meet specific requirements and can include quality assurance design and monitoring as well as expert product

grading and certification. Evaluations can be based on official U.S. grade standards or on processor or buyer quality and

condition requirements. These user fee services are available upon request to anyone who has a financial interest in the

commodities.

Voluntary U.S. grade standards are issued under the authority of the Agricultural

Marketing Act of 1946, which provides for the development of official U.S. grades to

designate different levels of quality. These grade standards are available for use by

producers, suppliers, buyers, and consumers. As in the case of other standards for grades

of processed fruits and vegetables, these standards are designed to facilitate orderly

marketing by providing a convenient basis for buying and selling, for establishing quality

control programs, and for determining loan values.

frozen corn

http://www.ams.usda.gov/standards/fzcornwk.pdf

Last week, a student in my online class posted this comment in a discussion, "Canned or frozen may have the same or more nutrition as fresh but the lowest quality produce is used for this because it cannot be sold whole. This is not always the case, but it certainly is with many fruits. They sell the highest quality produce to premium distrubitors like Harry and David. The produce that is not good enough to be sold to stores is what ends up in cans." Do you use the lowet quality produced for your frozen products? Thank you

Hi Ken-

Thanks for your quick reply. I really enjoy our discussion/arguments. You are a very bright and thoughtful person and you contribute many positive comments to our DCs.

I know to be true all of what you say. What you said in the DC is a bit different and in their Unit 6 quiz, MANY people commented on your posting. You said "Canned or frozen may have the same or more nutrition as fresh but the lowest quality produce is used for this because it cannot be sold whole."

Sometimes, as you say, the lowest quality is used for juice and things like fruit cocktail and ceamed corn, but many students, from your comments, assumed the lowest quality is ALWAYS used. Some students may now feel guiltry when they don't have time to buy and prepare fresh poduce, so they pull out a bag of frozen corn."

Regarding the DC a few weeks back about low quality fruits and vegetables being used for processing. This is true only when the appearance of the original item isn't important, such as fruits and vegetables being used for juicing and baby food. Edible, good-tasting and nutritious foods would be used for this, but unsightly imperfections (preventing its sale as a fresh product) would be removed. I'm glad there is this use for these imperfect fruits and vegetable so they don't need to be relegated to the compost heap. It would not be possible to disguise a poor quality product if it were to be used for a whole processed product such as frozen corn or French-cut green beans. An old and tough green bean would be just as tough in a can as it would be if cooked fresh.

p. 127 "Despite their considerable nutritional value, and despite the greater nutritional importance of eating vegetables than avoiding sodium, "canned vegetables are still condemned by the nutrition enthusiasts as being too high in sodium".....
"And that, in turn, is a nutritional mistake of the sort that that comes about when we base our standards on food avoiding rather than food seeking."

"Making people feel this way isn't good nutritional policy, it's nutritional bullying". I'm sure this is not what you meant to do, but it may have been the result.

Bob Welch: Love takes hold in first-grade moment. The Register-Guard, February 13, 2003. HE FIRST NOTICED the little red-haired girl back in Mr. Ford's first-grade class - Room 1 - at Yolanda Elementary School in Springfield. It was the 1990-91 school year. http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/02/13/c1.cr.welch.0213.html

LCC dance program plans performance. The Register-Guard, February 16, 2003. Dancers will explore the inner and outer terrain of the human body in "Respire," to be presented at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday in the Lane Community College Performance Hall. http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/02/16/ar.lanedance.0216.html