At International Delta Center
Growers, our process combines natural,
environmentally-conscious wisdom with
the benefits of technology.
International Delta center®
citrus is grown on over 50,000
acres of fertile soil in Delta
of River Nile Valley.
When the citrus is ready to
be picked, pickers use special
clippers designed for the
different citrus varieties. Each
piece of fruit is hand picked
then placed in a bag that hangs
over the pickers shoulder.
The fruit is then dumped
into bins or small boxes that
will be transported to the
packinghouse.
Once the fruit reaches the
packinghouse it is sent to the
pre-grade area. Here the fruit
is pre-washed and passed through
the initial grading station.
Handlers carefully grade by
color and blemish, then the
conveyor carries the fruit to
storage bins where they'll be
held for packing.
When the fruit is ready for
packing the fruit is dumped out
of the storage bins.
The fruit is then rewashed,
waxed and dried.
It is then carried down the
line where it is sized and
stamped or stickered.
Final grading before packing
is the next step. The fruit is
sorted by grade and carried down
the line for packing.
Fruit is packed several ways
depending on customer needs.
Cartons are the most common.
If fruit is to be bagged it
is either bagged by machine or
by hand. The bagging machines
automatically measure by counts
or weight. The bags are then put
into "master" cartons for
shipment.
The cartons are then carried
to the accumulator area where
they are put onto pallets. The
automatic palletizer wraps the
cartons tightly so they will not
shift during transport.
The pallets are transported
to the pre-cooler where they are
held for shipment.
Once the truck arrives to
transport the fruit, the truck
is loaded and the fruit moves on
to its final destination.
BRC / IOP
Packaging
(British Retail
Consortium /
Institute of
Packaging)
Technical
Standard for
companies
manufacturing
and supplying
food packaging
materials for
retailer branded
products.
