The incidence of fruit postharvest losses and waste due to mechanical damage during handling is a major
problem in the fresh produce industry. Ventilated corrugated paperboard (VCP) packages used
extensively in the fruit industry are designed to minimize handling damage and to facilitate airflow
around the produce to maintain the cold chain. During handling and transportation, both the package and
contents experience a range of force loading conditions, including impact, compression and vibration
which may result in bruise damage. The objectives of this study were to investigate the impact bruise
damage susceptibility of apples packed inside two ventilated carton designs (one with fruit on tray layers
and the other with fruit in retail polyethylene plastic bags). The spatial variation of bruise damage inside
the packages and the incidence of physical damage of the packages were also investigated. Results
showed that both the incidence and susceptibility to bruise damage of the apples were affected by
package design and drop heights; with more than 50% higher incidence and 66% higher bruise
susceptibility occurring on fruit packed in the bulk package design than on those packed in the layered
package design. Irrespective of package design, both bruising incidence and susceptibility were highest at
the bottom of the package, which increased significantly by about 50% when the package drop height
increased from 30 cm to 50 cm.