FoodTrust - Connections

William and Harvey have begun the second year of bruise testing for our quality improvement project. The idea behind the overall project is to try several different methods of production and harvesting to determine which method makes the greatest impact on quality.

William and Harvey take random samples after the potatoes have been harvested. The samples are bagged and identified so they know where the samples come from and what harvesting method was used. The picture at the left shows the samples collected for the day. There will be plenty more samples before the testing is complete.

They peel every sample potato and check for internal bruises as they peel them. The photo below (left) shows one potato that was bruised. You can hardly see an internal bruise like this without peeling the potato. The photo on the right shows the sorted potatoes. The white bucket holds the unbruised potatoes. Bruised potatoes get put in basket 1 , 2, or 3 depending on how many passes of the peeler have to be made before the bruise is gone.

William says that so far this year there has been much less bruising than in previous years. He told me that it could be because of some of the changes made to harvesting practices, or due to the perfect harvesting weather we’ve had. It will take time to determine the exact cause of the improvement.

They may as well be in the army! By the time they finish bruise testing they will have peeled hundreds of pounds of potatoes. Hopefully they put their practice to good use at home!

Scott