The California tree fruit industry has long had a system in place to trace fruit back to the orchard where it was grown. Identifying the fruit grower and packer starts with information printed on every fruit container. Each box is stamped with a marking that contains a series of numbers. This series includes the date and packer identification number and a grower lot identification marking. Those numbers, along with the information on the box label, can be used to quickly locate the fruit packer. Many packinghouses also stamp separate numbers on the box that identify each individual grower and the specific orchard in which the fruit was grown.
In tests performed on fruit samples taken from retail stores throughout the U.S., it has taken less than 5 minutes to identify the packer, grower and orchard where the fruit was grown. In the unlikely event that fresh peaches, plums or nectarines cause an illness, this traceback system could quickly identify the source. This helps protect consumers and ensures that unaffected growers and packers could continue shipping peaches, plums and nectarines.
Take a look at plum grower Jeff Boldt explain how it all works!
